Washington state has filed lawsuits to block federal demands for personal information on more than one million state residents receiving food assistance benefits.
The federal government is seeking five years of data on SNAP recipients, including names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers and immigration status. The USDA threatened to cut over $100 million in annual nutrition program funding if states don’t comply.
Attorney General Nick Brown filed suit in Thurston County Superior Court against Fidelity Information Services, the private contractor that distributes benefits for the state. The lawsuit alleges Fidelity planned to hand over the data without state approval.
Brown also joined 21 other states in a federal lawsuit challenging the USDA directive as unconstitutional government overreach that violates federal privacy laws.
“People who need food assistance should be able to trust that their data will be protected,” Brown said.
The state’s Department of Social and Health Services learned in May that Fidelity intended to release the information. After the state objected, the company delayed confirming its plans. Following the lawsuit, Fidelity assured the Attorney General’s Office it had not shared any data and wouldn’t do so without explicit approval.
The data demand stems from a March executive order directing federal agencies to collect comprehensive state program information to reduce fraud and inefficiency. But the lawsuit argues the real purpose is gathering data for immigration enforcement, citing a separate case involving health information transfers to Homeland Security.
The USDA set a July 30 deadline for states to comply with the SNAP data request. Washington’s legal challenge claims the disclosure violates privacy protections and creates dangerous precedent for federal overreach.
