Press Release  AG Campbell Asks Court To Enforce Order Blocking Trump Administration’s Demands For Personal Data Of SNAP Recipients

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to enforce its preliminary injunction  blocking the Trump Administration’s renewed demand that states turn over personal and sensitive information about millions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicants and recipients.

In July of 2025, AG Campbell filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration alleging that its demand for SNAP recipients’ private data violates federal law. The District Court granted a preliminary injunction barring the Administration from withholding SNAP funding from states that refuse to turn over sensitive information as the lawsuit proceeds. Now, in a new demand for the same data subject to the existing court order, the Trump Administration has again threatened to cut off SNAP funding to states that do not turn over sensitive personal information about their residents. In the motion to enforce, AG Campbell and a multistate coalition argue that this renewed demand violates the District Court’s existing order and is contrary to law for the same reasons as the original demand. The coalition asks the court to enforce its preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration’s renewed demand.

“The court made clear that while this case proceeds, the Trump Administration cannot punish states that refuse to help fuel their cruel immigration agenda by violating the privacy of vulnerable children and families trying to make ends meet,” said AG Campbell. “All parents deserve to be able to feed their children without having their private information wrongfully taken or the fear of being deported. I’m calling on the court to ensure that the Trump Administration complies with federal privacy laws and previous rulings.” 

SNAP is a federally funded, state-administered program that provides billions of dollars in food assistance to tens of millions of low-income families across the country. SNAP applicants provide their private information on the understanding, backed by federal law, that their information will not be used for unrelated purposes. In an attempt to bully states into complying with their cruel immigration agenda, the Trump Administration has repeatedly threatened to withhold funding critical for the administration of SNAP if states fail to turn over recipients’ personal data — effectively forcing states to choose between protecting their residents’ privacy and providing critical nutrition assistance to those in need. Massachusetts receives more than $100 million a year to administer the program, and any delay in that funding could be catastrophic for the state and its residents who rely on SNAP to put food on the table. 

AG Campbell has vigorously defended SNAP from attacks by the Trump Administration. During the last government shutdown, AG Campbell sued USDA to force them to fund November SNAP benefits. In November of 2025, AG Campbell again sued the Trump Administration to challenge USDA’s guidance that erroneously excluded certain lawfully residing non-citizens from SNAP eligibility. In response to that lawsuit, USDA backed down and issued corrected guidance.   

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