Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha has joined a multistate lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump administration’s demand that states share personal information — and even shopping records — from people enrolled in food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
A coalition of 21 states and Washington, D.C, filed the complaint Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which manages the SNAP program at the federal level. States run their own SNAP programs but rely on the federal framework for funding.
The suit seeks to block a May 2025 USDA directive that requires states to provide five years’ worth of SNAP applicants and recipients’ information, such as Social Security numbers, addresses, immigration status, and even “day-to-day grocery purchase information,” according to the suit.
The USDA reminded states on July 9 and July 25 to send over the information, setting a July 30 deadline that could trigger a “noncompliance procedure” that would leave states without their federal funding for SNAP.
“USDA demanded that States turn over virtually all of their SNAP applicant and recipient data for the past five years, including detailed ‘transactional records from each household,’ citing vague ‘program integrity’ concerns,’” the 103-page complaint reads.
The suit argues that USDA’s maneuver is unprecedented and that the feds’ ability to audit state’s individual SNAP records is limited.
“Once again this Administration is attempting to unlawfully collect sensitive personal information — this time by threatening Americans’ ability to feed their families,” Neronha said in a statement Tuesday, noting that more than 10% of Rhode Islander residents receive SNAP money.
A total of about 144,200 Rhode Islanders received SNAP benefits in 2024. The state receives about $27 million annually to administer the program.
“These are our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends. They have children who may go hungry without the program,” Neronha said.
The attorneys general filing the suit are concerned the data collection is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to stockpile personal data across federal databases and agencies, with the intent of using that data for immigration enforcement.
“Defendants’ sweeping and unprecedented demands for five years’ worth of PII [personally identifiable information] on SNAP applicants and recipients appear to be another step in this Orwellian surveillance campaign,” the lawsuit reads.
USDA initially tried to collect the SNAP data directly from states’ third-party vendors like Fidelity and Conduent, which deliver benefits to recipients through electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards. The contractors refused, so USDA pivoted to asking the states directly.
The plaintiffs additionally argue that the fraud-finding purpose of the data request is unfounded, noting that USDA itself has called SNAP “one of the most rigorous quality control systems in the federal government.”
The case has not yet been scheduled for a hearing date but has been assigned to Senior District Judge Maxine M. Chesney in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
State attorneys general involved in the lawsuit include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is also a plaintiff on behalf of his state.
This lawsuit brings the number of cases against the Trump administration in which Neronha is participating to 31.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
