California Attorney General Rob Bonta (R) speaks as California Governor Gavin Newsom looks on during a news conference at Gemperle Orchard on April 16, 2025, in Ceres, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The attorneys general said Wednesday that the new USDA guidance in question makes clear that "refugees, asylees, humanitarian parolees, individuals whose deportation has been withheld, and other humanitarian entrants become eligible for SNAP once they obtain their green cards and meet standard program requirements."
California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters on a call Wednesday that the USDA guidance "blatantly misapplies the agency’s own regulations" for SNAP, the nation's largest anti-hunger program that provides food aid to some 40 million Americans each month.
While it is unclear how many individuals in each state would be affected, the attorneys general estimated the number would be well into the thousands, including more than 30,000 residents in New York alone.
The new guidance "misclassifies entire groups of lawfully present immigrants as ‘not eligible’ when the law says they are eligible once they become lawful permanent residents," Bonta said Wednesday, describing the guidance as reading "like someone took notes from the Grinch."
STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER BILLIONS IN LOOMING CUTS TO SNAP, FOOD STAMPS
SNAP beneficiaries have been outraged on social media by the government shutdown affecting their grocery perks starting next month, (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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States had just one day to comply with the narrower guidance, they noted on the call.
The guidance "imposes these errors on states with virtually zero time to implement them," Bonta said.
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-took-notes-from-grinch-states-sue-over-snap-program-changes