Although undocumented immigrants are not eligible for benefits within the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced this week that the agency would “take action to prevent illegal aliens from accessing food stamps.”
Her announcement directs the division of USDA that runs SNAP to “immediately clarify and enforce all rules restricting its beneficiaries to U.S. citizens and legal residents only” and to make sure the department’s messaging does not encourage undocumented immigrants to utilize SNAP. USDA did not respond to questions asking for clarification around whether data exists showing undocumented immigrants are somehow accessing SNAP benefits or whether Secretary Rollins is pointing to current messaging she wants changed.
“The days in which taxpayer dollars are used to subsidize illegal immigration are over,” she said in a statement. “Today’s directive affirms that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will follow the law—full stop.”
Many immigrants, including those that do not have legal authorization to work in the United States, pay taxes but don’t have access to the programs those taxes pay for. According to estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022, with an average of close to $9,000 per person. Undocumented immigrants are overrepresented in jobs that feed Americans, on farms, in meatpacking plants, and in restaurants, and food workers have higher rates of food insecurity compared to workers in other sectors.(Link to this post.)
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