The One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by Trump restricted some immigrant groups from SNAP benefits.
A coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the blockage of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for immigrants.
The Nov. 26 lawsuit, filed at the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, targets certain provisions under the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump, that restricted eligibility for immigrants.
Before the OBBB, certain lawfully present immigrants were eligible for SNAP benefits provided they met the eligibility requirements and completed a five-year waiting period, unless exempted by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA), according to an Oct. 31 post by the USDA.
“Following the OBBB, some alien groups previously eligible for SNAP are no longer eligible,” it said.
On Oct. 31, the USDA sent a guidance memorandum to all SNAP state agencies, highlighting the new eligibility requirements. Five groups qualify for SNAP under OBBB: U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, Cuban and Haitian entrants, Compact of Free Association citizens, and lawful permanent residents (LPRs).
The lawsuit focuses on lawful permanent residents or green card holders, people legally authorized to permanently live in the United States. While immigrants may not become lawful permanent residents initially, they can eventually get a green card.
The guidance claims that some immigrant categories are eligible for SNAP once they become lawful permanent residents, according to the lawsuit. This includes certain American Indians born abroad, Hmong or Highland Laotian tribe members, battered aliens, conditional entrants, and victims of severe trafficking.
Other immigrant categories are deemed “not eligible” for SNAP benefits by the guidance, such as refugees, people granted asylum, parolees, those who have had their deportation withheld, and certain Afghan and Ukrainian nationals granted paroles, the lawsuit said.
The states criticized this differentiation between immigrant groups, arguing that individuals from both groups who adjust their status to become lawful permanent residents are eligible for SNAP.
“The Guidance specifically designates many individuals as categorically ‘Not eligible’ who have clear pathways to becoming LPRs. For example, Refugees and Individuals Granted Asylum may adjust status and become LPRs after one year,” they said.
The guidance goes beyond OBBB, “arbitrarily excluding from SNAP many lawful permanent residents who remain eligible under the statutory scheme established by Congress,” the states argued.
The guidance claims that immigrants who came as refugees, asylum seekers, and other Humanitarian Immigrant Groups are subject to a five-year waiting period to start receiving SNAP benefits.
The states argued that “PRWORA excludes individuals who were admitted as refugees, granted asylum, had their deportation withheld, and others, from the five-year waiting period. And no provision of the OBBB amended PRWORA’s exemptions from its five-year waiting period.”
