Attorney General Kwame Raoul isn't backing down in the face of the Trump administration's repeated attempts to pry into the private lives of SNAP recipients, turning again to the courts for protection. Raoul has requested that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California enforce its prior injunction to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture from accessing personal data belonging to millions receiving food assistance. According to an official release from the Illinois Attorney General's office, despite an October 2025 court order restraining the USDA, they've continued their push as recently as November, dangling the threat of withheld funds over states that refuse to comply.
In the coalition's legal challenge, Raoul has united with 20 other attorneys general to assert the administration's persistence is not only a defiance of the court's injunction, but also a flagrant contravention of the law. "The Trump administration, yet again, thinks it is above the law, as it ignores the court’s preliminary injunction to temporarily block the USDA from accessing sensitive information of SNAP recipients," Raoul stated, as per the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.
This contentious issue has its roots in a lawsuit filed in July 2025, where Raoul and the same cohort of attorneys general claimed the USDA's demands infringed several federal laws and constitutional guarantees by seeking to gather SNAP recipients' information. This sensitive data, encompassing names, Social Security numbers, and immigration status, among other details, was initially demanded for the period dating back to January 2020 without clear protections to prevent its potential transfer to entities like the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for purposes that may include immigration enforcement, the Office of the Illinois Attorney General noted.
SNAP, as the federally funded but state-administered program, serves as a lifeline, offering food aid to millions of low-income households across the country – in Illinois alone, nearly 2 million people rely on the program. The Illinois Attorney General's office reminds us of the stakes: 33% of households benefiting from SNAP in Illinois house children, 30% include adults over 60, and 27% are homes to individuals with disabilities, and all have shared their information under the premise and assurance that these personal details shall remain confidential, shielded by long-established laws. Coming onboard with Raoul in the lawsuit against the Trump administration's persistent overreach are attorneys general from Arizona to Wisconsin, including New York, California, and multiple other states.
