Attorney General James Takes Action to Protect Sensitive Personal Information of Tens of Millions of People

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today joined a lawsuit with 20 other attorneys general and the state of Kentucky in taking action to protect the privacy rights of the more than 40 million people throughout the country who rely on essential food assistance. In a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Attorney General James and the coalition are challenging the Trump administration’s illegal requirement that states turn over the personal information of all residents who receive support from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to purchase groceries. Attorney General James and the coalition argue that this highly sensitive data, which includes home addresses, Social Security numbers, recent locations, immigration statuses, and more, will likely be shared across federal agencies and used for immigration enforcement, in violation of the law. Attorney General James and the coalition are seeking a court judgment declaring the administration’s new policy illegal and preventing enforcement.

“Families should be able to get the food assistance they need without fearing that they will be targeted by this administration,” said Attorney General James. “I will not allow the SNAP benefits that millions of New Yorkers count on to be put at risk. We are suing today to stop this illegal policy and protect New Yorkers’ privacy and access to food assistance.”

In March, the president signed an executive order mandating data sharing across federal agencies. Since then, the Trump administration has embarked on a campaign of demanding access to Americans’ private personal information and using it for unauthorized purposes. As Attorney General James and the coalition assert, the administration clearly intends to use this data for immigration enforcement, in violation of the law. Both federal and state laws prohibit states from disclosing personally identifying SNAP data unless it is strictly necessary for the program.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers SNAP, has requested that states submit personally identifying information, including names, dates of birth, personal addresses, and Social Security numbers, of all SNAP applicants and recipients since January 2020. The USDA has threatened states with potential SNAP funding cuts if they refuse to comply. As a result of USDA’s new demand, states have been put in the impossible position of either complying and violating the law, or protecting their residents’ personal information while jeopardizing millions of dollars in funding used to administer the SNAP program. 

More than 55 percent of SNAP participants are in families with children, and more than 36 percent are in families with members who are elderly or have disabilities. In May 2025, approximately 1.7 million New York households, representing over 2.9 million individuals, participated in SNAP. Nearly one million of those individuals were children. While non-citizens are generally not eligible for SNAP benefits, federal law allows non-citizen parents to apply for SNAP benefits on behalf of their citizen children.

Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the administration’s new demands are unconstitutional and violate the Administrative Procedure Act by requiring states to violate federal laws and regulations. With this lawsuit, Attorney General James and the coalition are seeking a court judgment declaring that the administration’s demands to share SNAP data are illegal and declaring that the administration cannot disclose the requested SNAP data to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for any purposes other than SNAP administration.

Joining Attorney General James in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the state of Kentucky.