Brooke Rollins, who was confirmed as agriculture secretary earlier this month, said the directive follows the president’s Feb. 19 executive order.
Freshly confirmed Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has directed the agency to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving food stamps, according to a letter issued on Feb. 25.
Rollins instructed the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) “to immediately clarify and enforce all rules restricting its beneficiaries to U.S. citizens and legal residents only,” a press release from the agency explained.
“The days in which taxpayer dollars are used to subsidize illegal immigration are over,” Rollins said in the Feb. 25 press release that accompanied a copy of the letter. “Today’s directive affirms that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will follow the law—full stop.”
Rollins referenced President Donald Trump’s Feb. 19 executive order that tasked all federal agencies to identify any federally funded programs that provide financial assistance to illegal immigrants and “take corrective actions” to ensure funds to states and localities “will not be used to support sanctuary policies or assist illegal immigration.”
In 1996, Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, “which generally prohibits illegal aliens from receiving federal benefits, including SNAP benefits,” Rollins wrote in the letter, which was addressed to state, tribal, territorial, and local government partners.
“With its enactment, illegal aliens in the United States should not depend on taxpayer dollars to take care of their needs,” she wrote. “President Trump’s executive order re-affirms this important national policy—and puts the needs of Americans first.”
On Feb. 14, Rollins outlined her vision for reforming the USDA’s 16 nutrition programs, in a letter to state, tribal, territorial, and local government partners. Rollins detailed her commitment to modernizing the programs while ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly.
At a separate welcoming ceremony at USDA headquarters on Feb. 14, Rollins reaffirmed her pledge to work closely with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), explaining that DOGE had already been active at the agency for several weeks.
She listed a series of priorities, which included efforts to reduce fraud and abuse in SNAP and other programs; clarify statutory and regulatory requirements; improve customer service for program beneficiaries.
