Attorney General Tong Permanently Blocks Trump Administration's SNAP Penalties

Press Releases

09/18/2026

Attorney General Tong Permanently Blocks Trump Administration's SNAP Penalties

Multi-state lawsuit also secures ruling that lawful permanent residents remain eligible for food assistance

(Hartford, CT) - Attorney General William Tong announced today that a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon has permanently blocked the Trump administration from penalizing states, including Connecticut, with steep fines tied to their administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The ruling makes permanent a preliminary injunction the court issued in December 2025 and goes further: the judge sided with Connecticut and the coalition on every claim, striking down both the administration's fine-triggering deadline and its guidance restricting food assistance for lawful permanent residents.

"Trump weaponized food assistance to penalize states and punish immigrant families. There was zero legal authority for his cruelty, and his administration was sloppy and careless in crafting their guidance. We sued, we won, and we're permanently blocking Trump from carrying out this reckless scheme," said Attorney General Tong.

In November 2025, Attorney General Tong and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration after it moved to cut off SNAP benefits for tens of thousands of lawful permanent residents and set a retroactive deadline that put states at risk of paying hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.

The administration later reversed its position on eligibility for lawful permanent residents but continued to argue that states owed fines for missing a "grace period" that, in practice, had already expired before the administration finished issuing guidance on the changes.

The court found that the administration's deadline was unlawful and arbitrary, and that the administration's guidance improperly excluded certain lawful permanent residents, including former refugees and people granted asylum, from food assistance they are legally entitled to receive. In addition, the court found that the administration's deadline was unlawful as it related to other changes to SNAP eligibility calculations from the 2025 Republican budget bill.

The decision makes it clear that:

• States cannot be penalized under the unlawful deadline the administration tried to impose.
• The standard five-year waiting period for SNAP does not apply to lawful permanent residents who were previously refugees, asylees, or other humanitarian immigrants.

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
[email protected]

Consumer Inquiries:

860-808-5318
[email protected]

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Email
• Print