USDA Makes It Tougher for Illegals to Get Food Stamps

The Trump administration is cracking down on illegal immigrants using food stamps by instructing state agencies to increase verification. 

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services John Walk issued guidance on Thursday to state agencies administering the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to enhance identity and immigration verification practices. 

Specifically the Department of Agriculture guidance requires states to obtain more reliable documents to prove identity, deter fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, and directs the state agencies to make better use of the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system, also known as SAVE, which DHS made available to states for free. The guidance also encourages identification proofing process and requiring more in-person interviews. 

“President [Donald] Trump has made it clear that American taxpayers will no longer subsidize illegal aliens,” Rollins said in a public statement. “We are stewards of taxpayer dollars, and it is our duty to ensure states confirm the identity and verify the immigration status of SNAP applicants.”

“USDA’s nutrition programs are intended to support the most vulnerable Americans. To allow those who broke our laws by entering the United States illegally to receive these benefits is outrageous,” she added.

Critics on the Left opposed the policy. 

The California Immigrant Policy Center posted on X, “More than 40 million people, including lawfully present immigrant families, use SNAP to feed their families. Cutting funding for SNAP and other nutrition programs increases hunger and healthcare needs across the U.S.”

A September 2024 report by the Government Accountability Office found that lack of verification of identity and eligibility was a contributing factor to $10.5 billion in improper food stamps in fiscal year 2023. That amounted to about 12% of all food stamp payments that year.