USDA, DOGE demand states hand over personal data about food stamp recipients

The Department of Agriculture is demanding states manus implicit idiosyncratic information of nutrient assistance recipients — including Social Security numbers, addresses and, successful astatine slightest 1 state, citizenship status, according to emails shared with NPR by an authoritative who was not allowed to talk publicly.

The sweeping and unprecedented petition comes arsenic the Trump medication ramps up the postulation and consolidation of Americans' delicate data, and arsenic that information has been utilized to make misleading claims astir radical successful the U.S. illegally accessing nationalist benefits and committing fraud, and to build a greater capacity to deport them.

The emails obtained by NPR besides amusement the nationwide directive regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, oregon SNAP, follows a petition by national auditors for accusation that included citizenship information but not different information typically utilized to verify fiscal eligibility for the program.

In 2024, SNAP served an mean of 42 cardinal radical each month, according to the Department of Agriculture, at a outgo of $100 billion. Only immoderate categories of lawfully contiguous noncitizens are eligible to person SNAP benefits, and those without ineligible presumption tin ne'er qualify. However, a noncitizen genitor without ineligible presumption whitethorn apply for the assistance connected behalf of their children who are U.S. citizens.

The latest information demands are "absolutely alarming," and "reckless" and apt interruption the Privacy Act and different statutes, said Jon Davisson, elder counsel and manager of litigation astatine the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center. He and different advocates pass the information could beryllium utilized to alteration deportation and wide surveillance efforts and would bash small to code improper payments.

"It is an unprecedented hold of the administration's run to consolidate idiosyncratic data," Davisson said.

USDA's antithetic information request

SNAP, formerly known arsenic nutrient stamps, is simply a national program. Each authorities administers the programme and enrolls participants based connected eligibility determined by Congress. While the USDA and its Office of Inspector General tin audit authorities SNAP programs, participants' idiosyncratic information typically remains nether the state's control.

In March, the USDA's Office of Inspector General notified California, Florida, New York and Texas of inspections of their SNAP programs to spot if the states were improperly utilizing administrative funds to wage retired benefits, the emails show.

That yet led to a petition for elaborate delicate information — including citizenship presumption and addresses — of each SNAP participants successful the erstwhile twelvemonth from astatine slightest 1 of the states.

An April 2 update the authorities received from the OIG's bureau added a caller objective: performing analytics connected subordinate information to "evaluate its prime and integrity." Yet the watchdog yet declined to petition participants' employment presumption oregon income — which are cardinal for determining fiscal eligibility for nutrient assistance and detecting imaginable fraud.

Instead, the petition prioritized different information fields, including name, day of birth, address, interaction information, Social Security number, citizenship presumption and accusation astir household members, the emails show.

At an archetypal associated video conference, the states learned the inspections had been requested by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, according to an authoritative who attended the gathering but was not authorized to sermon the matter. Trump fired existing inspectors general crossed the national authorities erstwhile helium took office, including astatine the USDA wherever a caller imperishable person of the bureau has yet to beryllium confirmed.

Earlier this week, the USDA escalated its quest for information further.

In a May 6 letter to each states, an advisor for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services said the national bureau would beryllium seeking personally identifiable accusation for SNAP applicants and recipients, including, but not constricted to, "names, dates of birth, idiosyncratic addresses used, and Social Security numbers" going backmost to Jan.1, 2020.USDA did not reply NPR's questions astir the afloat grade of idiosyncratic information it was requesting.

The missive said USDA is asking backstage contractors that process SNAP payments for states to crook implicit that data, and volition usage it to "ensure programme integrity, including by verifying the eligibility of payment recipients." The directive comes arsenic Republican lawmakers successful Congress are proposing heavy cuts to the nutrient assistance program that would trim the fig of radical who enactment successful it.

DOGE's role

The May 6 missive cited President Donald Trump's March 20 enforcement order, "Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos," which calls connected agencies to guarantee the national authorities "has unfettered entree to broad information from each authorities programs that person national backing "including from "third-party databases" successful bid to place fraud and overpayments.

The advertisement hoc Department of Government Efficiency team, oregon DOGE, has been accessing delicate information crossed the national government successful caller months and has been utilizing allegations of wasteful and fraudulent spending to justify dismantling authorities agencies. Neither DOGE nor the White House responded to NPR's requests for comment.

Fidelity Information Services, a vendor utilized by immoderate states to process physics slope transportation transactions for SNAP programs, told its authorities partners the time earlier USDA's missive to states that the bureau and its DOGE squad contacted them successful transportation to the enforcement order, and that "no proprietary, confidential, oregon personally identifiable information" was shared, according to emails obtained by NPR.

"FIS values its adjacent moving narration with some USDA and its authorities partners and is committed to supporting efforts to amended programme ratio and trim fraud," reads a connection the institution provided to NPR. "As agreed with the USDA and successful compliance with national regulation, FIS has notified States of the USDA's petition and is moving with some to find the astir businesslike mode to respond with the requested information."

Wired, the Washington Post and CNN person reported that DOGE is besides combining delicate information from crossed agencies, including Social Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service, to make a information instrumentality that tin assistance the national authorities way and apprehension immigrants they privation to remove.

More than a twelve national lawsuits allege DOGE staffers person been illegally granted permission to presumption databases with idiosyncratic and fiscal accusation the authorities maintains, and aggregate national judges person expressed concern astir what accusation DOGE has accessed and why. Late past month, DHS announced a DOGE-led overhaul of its Systematic Alien Verification Entitlements (SAVE) database, making the strategy escaped for authorities and section governments to usage and promising a "single, reliable root for verifying non-citizen presumption nationwide."Davisson, the privateness attorney, said the SNAP information being requested could beryllium utilized to marque exaggerated allegations of fraud, and that combining the accusation with different DOGE-obtained information could beryllium utilized for migration enforcement efforts.

"What they're gathering is simply a surveillance limb and it tin beryllium enactment to each sorts of adverse uses successful the future," said Davisson.

NPR asked the USDA if the bureau would beryllium pursuing protocols outlined successful the Privacy Act, specified arsenic publishing a privateness appraisal and System of Records Notice for the caller dataset. An unnamed spokesperson utilizing a USDA property email relationship told NPR the agency's wide counsel is determining whether that is required.

"All personally identifiable accusation volition comply with each privateness laws and regulations and volition travel liable information handling requirements," the email said.

Fraud and maltreatment with SNAP benefits are rare

After Trump issued an enforcement bid successful February aimed astatine ensuring immigrants without ineligible presumption are not receiving national benefits, Agriculture Secretary Rollins made combatting alleged mispayments to ineligible immigrants a focus.

"The days successful which payer dollars are utilized to subsidize amerciable migration are over," Rollins said successful a February property release.

In fiscal twelvemonth 2023 about 11% of SNAP benefits distributed were considered improper over- oregon underpayments. Still, adjacent less — astir 1% of those — were attributed to state-level issues related to determining citizenship eligibility, according to USDA's ain data.

Most of the improper payments successful 2022 were owed to unintentional mistakes by authorities workers oregon households, alternatively than intentional fraud, according to an analysis of the information by the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

Only 50% of eligible noncitizens (which includes refugees and greenish paper holders) and 59% of eligible children surviving with noncitizen adults participated successful SNAP successful 2022, according to a USDA report. Overall, advocates said information among those who are entitled to person this payment is debased owed to fears that it whitethorn person a antagonistic interaction connected migration proceedings.

Even though immigrants without ineligible presumption are not eligible to person SNAP oregon different national benefits, SNAP information does see the names and addresses of radical who could beryllium taxable to deportation present oregon successful the future, oregon who stock a household with radical who could be.

Some ineligible immigrants who person SNAP benefits whitethorn suffer their ineligible presumption successful the aboriginal fixed that the medication is trying to reverse Biden-era migration programs that granted hundreds of thousands of radical the quality to unrecorded and enactment successful the U.S.

For years, advocates and authorities agencies person tried to reassure migrant families that it is harmless for them to motion up for assistance if they met the eligibility requirements.

"People seeking services request to cognize that their accusation volition beryllium utilized lone to administer the programme — and won't enactment them oregon their household members astatine risk," said Tanya Broder, an lawyer with the National Immigration Law Center.

"But the national government's request for 'unfettered' entree to delicate information crossed aggregate agencies, and its assertive pursuit of immigrants, rise superior privateness concerns and the imaginable that accusation volition beryllium weaponized against radical who would spell bare without assistance."

On an FAQ page to motion up for nutrient assistance from California, the tract presently says the authorities volition not study applicants' migration presumption to authorities and accusation is utilized lone to find eligibility.

"Authorities cannot usage this accusation to deport you unless determination is simply a transgression violation," the authorities website says.

New York's website says: "Applying for oregon receiving SNAP volition not impact your quality to stay successful the United States."

Advocates NPR spoke with said it is important for SNAP participants to recognize that it is not yet known astatine this constituent however states volition grip the USDA's pending information requests.

Esther Reyes with Protecting Immigrant Families, a conjugation of 700 groups crossed the state that assistance eligible immigrants entree services, is urging states to cheque with their legislature delegations astir whether the information requests are ineligible earlier responding.

As for radical who whitethorn consciousness fearful astir enrolling successful SNAP fixed concerns implicit data, Reyes said, "We truly promote families and communities to speech to enrollment workers and the radical that they spot earlier acting connected that fear."

NPR's Ximena Bustillo contributed reporting

Have accusation you privation to stock astir SNAP, DOGE entree to authorities databases and immigration? Reach retired to these authors done encrypted connection connected Signal. Stephen Fowler is astatine stphnfwlr.25, Jude Joffe-Block is astatine JudeJB.10 and Ximena Bustillo is astatine ximenabustillo.77. Please usage a nonwork device.