Michigan AG Nessel joins lawsuit against Trump to protect SNAP information

Nessel's opening remarks in lawsuit against Trump to protect SNAP information

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and other Democrat AGs have filed a lawsuit to protect the SNAP information of recipients under threat of having funding pulled.

FOX 2 - Another legal battle against the Trump administration is underway - this time regarding confidential information of SNAP users - with the latest lawsuit from 20 Democrat attorneys general. 

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On Monday Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel took part in announcing a lawsuit against the Trump administration for threatening to withhold Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program funding unless it receives personal information of SNAP recipients and applicants.

"We promised them that when they apply, their information will only be used to verify their eligibility and administer the SNAP program," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. "Trump's USDA is demanding that states now violate that trust. Weaponizing a program meant to feed families into a tool for fear."

Nessel, who took part in a press conference alongside Bonta and New York AG Leticia James, said the information will be used for immigration crackdown purposes. 

The other side:

The Trump administration has claimed the data gathering is for eliminating waste and fraud.

Bonta countered that due to existing guard rails, "SNAP has very low levels of fraud."

Why you should care:

Nessel called it an illegal attempt to seize personal data of the more than one million Michigan residents who use SNAP.

"The federal government is demanding five years' worth of sensitive identifiable information on every single SNAP recipient in our state," Nessel said. "Not to improve the program, not to fight fraud but to put together a database and share information with entirely unrelated agencies including immigration enforcement. 

"This is unlawful, it is a violation of privacy and it is a direct threat to health and safety of our state's most vulnerable residents."

Nessel said that SNAP delivers more than $250 million monthly in food assistance and helps provide school meals to about 400,000 children. 

Michigan ranks 13th nationally among all states according to population participation.

The lawsuit is being filed in the northern district of California, two days prior to the SNAP deadline.

Attorneys General Dana Nessel (top left), California AG Rob Bonta and New York AG Leticia James.

Bonta said it is the 35th lawsuit in 27 weeks against the Trump administration.

"That is more than one a week, because that is the pace at which this presidential administration is violating the law (and) trampling over the constitution," Bonta said.

Nessel claimed that the lawsuits she has taken part with, have saved Michigan more than $1.5 billion. 

She argues that the money was already paid for, by the state - and belongs to Michigan.

"That's our money," she said. "We pay tax dollars to the federal government. Then the federal governmenbt routes that money back to us in the form of essential programs. 

"We already paid for this and so when you cut off programming like SNAP it just goes into the pockets of Trump's friends and billionaires but we already paid for this stuff."