On Eve of Thanksgiving, Attorney General Bonta Sues Trump Administration for Unlawfully Restricting Eligibility for Food Assistance Program

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) recent guidance illegally restricting eligibility for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP provides monthly food benefits to low-income families in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In California, SNAP, known as the CalFresh Program, is administered by the California Department of Social Services and is an essential hunger safety net to 5.5 million Californians each month. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta, along with a coalition of 21 other attorneys general, argue that USDA's guidance for implementing the “Big Beautiful Bill” erroneously excludes certain lawfully residing non-citizens from SNAP eligibility, when they in fact are eligible when they become lawful permanent residents. The attorneys general raise the alarm that, without court intervention, the guidance will cause errors in eligibility determinations, which could deprive thousands of legal permanent residents of food assistance and lead to devastating financial penalties for states.

“The Trump Administration is effectively depriving thousands of lawful permanent residents of food assistance benefits that Congress intended be available,” said Attorney General Bonta. “SNAP recipients are still recovering from the whiplash President Trump and his Administration put them through in seeking to block November SNAP benefits during the government shutdown. No President has ever worked harder to deprive hungry Americans of access to basic nutrition. Ahead of the holidays, we’re not giving up the fight. We’re asking a court to step in and stop the USDA from applying its faulty new guidance before any further damage can be done.” 

Section 10108 of the Big Beautiful Bill amended the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to eliminate SNAP eligibility for individuals who entered the U.S. as refugees, were granted asylum, or were granted humanitarian parole based on this status at the time of their admission or parole. The Big Beautiful Bill did not, however, prohibit individuals who once held the status of refugees, asylees, or parolees from gaining eligibility for SNAP if and when they adjust their status to become lawful permanent residents. In a letter to USDA last week, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition explained that USDA’s guidance incorrectly list refugees, individuals granted asylum, parolees, and deportation withheld as “not eligible” rather than stating they could become eligible for SNAP if they become lawful permanent residents. USDA’s guidance also incorrectly conveys that humanitarian entrants must wait five years after becoming legal permanent residents to qualify for SNAP benefits when these individuals should be eligible immediately after obtaining legal permanent resident status.

USDA’s multiple errors and late-coming guidance have caused significant confusion for the states that have been tasked with implementing new substantive limitations on SNAP eligibility. As a result, there is serious risk of an increase in errors as states struggle to reconcile their obligations under the federal statue with faulty, misleading agency guidance that strays from the law. Although federal regulations require a 120-day exclusionary period following the application of a new implementing memorandum of a mandatory change, USDA incorrectly states that the exclusionary period ended on November 1, 2025, just one day after the guidance was issued on Friday, October 31, 2025. 

In today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that USDA’s guidance is contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and should be vacated. They ask the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to bar USDA from applying the guidance and from using effective date for the purpose of calculating states’ error rates.

Attorney General Bonta has vigorously defended SNAP benefits from attacks by the Trump Administration. During the recent government shutdown, Attorney General Bonta sued USDA to force them to fund November SNAP benefits. Not one, but two federal district courts determined that the Trump Administration acted unlawfully. And when the Administration responded by asking the U.S. Supreme Court to pause one court’s order requiring USDA to pay full benefits, Attorney General Bonta vigorously challenged that request, which was ultimately withdrawn after the government reopened. The SNAP program is now fully funded through September 2026. 

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of New York, Oregon, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia in filing the lawsuit.