New York Sues Trump Administration Over SNAP Changes That Would Exclude Thousands of Legal Immigrants

These cuts are being strongly felt among our district before they even hit them mentioned Carlyn Cowen chief guidelines and masses affairs officer at the Chinese-American Planning Council An EBT sign in a storefront on East Gun Hill Road in the Bronx Adi Talwar City Limits New York Attorney General Letitia James and attorneys general from other states are suing the U S Department of Agriculture over a new rule they say would permanently bar refugees and asylees from participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Undertaking SNAP The exclusion stems from the One Big Beautiful Bill passed by federal lawmakers this summer which included substantial alterations to the nation s social safety net programs That includes expanded work requirements for SNAP recipients which are for now on hold locally until next year and new eligibility parameters that exclude sufferers of trafficking and several legally present immigrant groups from the benefits The U S Department of Agriculture USDA the federal agency in charge of the SNAP undertaking issued a memo in late October stating that the cabinet no longer considers refugees people granted asylum and parolees eligible for food assistance While undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for SNAP the above groups and casualties of trafficking were able to apply for food assistance benefits as soon as they obtained that protected status and as long as they met the undertaking s other requirements The One Big Beautiful Bill eliminated that eligibility The AGs lawsuit says that the USDA s memo goes even further than what Congress laid out in the bill claiming it would close all possibilities for these groups to qualify for SNAP even if they become lawful permanent residents one of the sparse non-citizen groups still eligible under the Trump administration s changes though after a five year waiting period function d u ac var s d createElement 'script' s type 'text javascript' s src 'https a omappapi com app js api min js' s async true s dataset user u s dataset campaign ac d getElementsByTagName 'head' appendChild s document 'u kmqsczew vunxutxmd' The federal executive s shameful quest to take food away from children and families continues Attorney General Letitia James disclosed in a message last week announcing the lawsuit USDA has no authority to arbitrarily cut entire groups of people out of the SNAP operation and no one should go hungry because of the circumstances of their arrival to this country Under the Big Beautiful Bill the cabinet will cut funding for the SNAP undertaking formerly known as food stamps by billion through representing a percent cut according to the Congressional Budget Office The timing couldn t be worse SNAP recipients already saw their benefits delayed for over a week in November because of the federal shutdown while plenty of states and localities aren t sure how to implement the new eligibility measures The federal governing body says the changes haven t taken effect yet Due to the complex nature of non-citizen framework USDA is in the process of advancing further guidance based on questions from SNAP State Agencies and partners a USDA spokesperson stated in a message New York s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance OTDA which administers the plan on the state level disclosed it has not yet issued implementation guidance to local districts following the USDA s October memo In New York City executives assured that people should not be losing their benefits yet We inevitably work to protect all vulnerable New Yorkers and no one has yet been impacted by any changes a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Social Services DSS which runs SNAP in the five boroughs revealed in a announcement to City Limits But should the new requirements move ahead about non-citizens in New York City alone could be impacted according to DSS internal estimates Administrators say that any new guidelines for implementing the system depend on what the state stipulates Even if these changes are put into place affected SNAP beneficiaries will not see any changes until they are recertified the spokesperson announced According to the Congressional Budget Office people under the non-citizen category could lose benefits across the country According to the Attorney General s Office as plenty of as New Yorkers across the state could lose benefits The Chinese-American Planning Council which serves low-income and immigrant Asian American New Yorkers estimates that percent or of the roughly SNAP recipients the organization works with could be impacted according to Carlyn Cowen chief plan and citizens affairs officer Just to give you an idea of the level of fear and the scale of impact that these cuts are having in the weeks before we heard about it we had multiple population members calling in asking about what would happen to their SNAP benefits Cowen disclosed We had a area member experiencing a mental physical condition emergency because they were worried He was worried he wouldn t be able to feed his family These cuts are being strongly felt among our society before they even hit them Cowen added Tina Lopez the International Rescue Committee s executive director in New York reported access to SNAP was an integral part of the U S refugee and humanitarian programs under federal law SNAP really does become vitally major particularly for survivors of human trafficking to have these essential food services when they are experiencing such instability Lopez declared These essential food services create that stability that they need to gain back the mental physical condition guidance to survive and thrive Chia Chia Wang New York director for Church World Institution an organization working with vulnerable populations internationally underlined that district members are uncertain about their futures Their ability to access the benefits they do qualify for may be undermined by numerous efforts that make their lives harder Wang declared In addition to the SNAP eligibility changes the Trump administration declared new rules last month around the community charge protocol a way for immigration officers to see if immigrants use general benefits The increased scrutiny did not stop there on Nov U S Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS issued a memo calling for a review and re-interview of all refugees admitted in the country during the Biden administration about people According to the memo first released by Reuters USCIS would continue to review refugees admitted in other periods afterwards Federal eligibility rules and other agenda changes have created a chaotic situation for immigrants refugees and advocates alike Wang revealed To reach the reporter behind this story contact Daniel citylimits org To reach the editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org Want to republish this story Find City Limits reprint agenda here The post New York Sues Trump Administration Over SNAP Changes That Would Exclude Thousands of Legal Immigrants appeared first on City Limits