1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

The unprecedented consolidation of personal data by the USDA raises serious privacy and civil liberties concerns. Demanding states share sensitive information like Social Security numbers, addresses, and citizenship status of SNAP recipients, including children in mixed-status households, is an overreach that could enable unwarranted surveillance and deportation efforts. This exploits a vital nutrition assistance program to construct a troubling system for tracking and policing vulnerable communities. Such an invasion of privacy undermines public trust and could deter eligible families from accessing food assistance out of fear, ultimately increasing hunger and hardship. Using unfounded allegations of fraud as a pretext to amass this trove of data is disingenuous, as the USDA's own numbers show exceedingly low rates of improper SNAP payments due to citizenship issues. This heavy-handed data-gathering crosses ethical lines and potentially violates privacy laws. It exemplifies an administration fixated on cracking down on immigrants over serving the public good. I urge you to scrutinize these alarming efforts and take action to protect the personal information and human rights of SNAP participants from exploitation for enforcement overreach. We must safeguard nutrition programs focused on reducing food insecurity, not enable the further alienation and suffering of marginalized groups.