A coalition of 21 state attorneys general led by New York Attorney General Letitia James obtained a temporary restraining order from the District Court for the Northern District of California blocking the USDA from demanding personally identifiable information of all SNAP recipients, including Social Security numbers, home addresses, and immigration statuses. The lawsuit argued that the USDA’s demand violated federal and state laws prohibiting disclosure of SNAP data except in narrow circumstances, and that the data would be used for immigration enforcement against recipients. The order also prohibits the USDA from withholding SNAP funding from plaintiff states that refuse to comply with the data demand.
The District Court issued a temporary restraining order blocking the USDA from demanding plaintiff states turn over personally identifiable information of SNAP recipients, and prohibited the USDA from withholding SNAP funding from states that refuse to comply with the data demand.
In-house legal teams, particularly those at organizations that administer or contract with state or federal social services programs like SNAP, should review all contract clauses related to data sharing with government agencies, disclosure of beneficiary personally identifiable information (PII), and compliance with agency data demands. Teams should verify that contracts prohibit sharing PII except as explicitly permitted by applicable federal and state privacy laws, restrict use of beneficiary data to program administration purposes (excluding immigration enforcement), and include protections against funding withholding for refusing unlawful data demands. Additionally, clauses governing required PII disclosures should be updated to align with court-ordered restrictions on agency data collection.
Entity
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-wins-court-order-protecting-snap-recipients-sensitive
california et al v united states department of agriculture t
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court-filings/california-et-al-v-united-states-department-of-agriculture-temporary-restraining-order-2025.pdf
attorney general james takes action protect sensitive person
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-takes-action-protect-sensitive-personal-information-tens
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)"
"Both federal and state laws prohibit states from disclosing personally identifying SNAP data except under narrow circumstances."
"this highly sensitive data, which includes home addresses, Social Security numbers, recent locations, immigration statuses, and more, would likely be shared across federal agencies and used for immigration enforcement, in violation of the law."
"September 19, 2025"
"New York Attorney General Letitia James"
"Attorney General James and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general and the state of Kentucky"
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a multistate coalition of 21 attorneys general and Kentucky in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) challenging its illegal demand for personally identifiable information of over 40 million SNAP recipients. The coalition alleges the USDA’s requirement that states turn over SNAP recipients’ Social Security numbers, addresses, and immigration statuses violates federal and state laws prohibiting disclosure of SNAP data for non-program purposes, and that the data will be shared across federal agencies for unauthorized immigration enforcement. The coalition seeks a declaratory judgment declaring the policy illegal and a nationwide injunction preventing enforcement of the data demand.
$2.6M
New York and Connecticut reached a settlement with Boston Children’s Health Physicians and its IT security provider, XTIUM, after a 2024 breach exposed private information of approximately 825,000 New York residents and 62,871 Connecticut residents. The companies will pay $2.64 million and implement enhanced cybersecurity measures; additional penalties are conditional on violating the settlement.
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined 16 other attorneys general in urging Congress to pass proposed legislation addressing the federal government’s release of Jeffrey Epstein-related records. The press release says DOJ has not fully disclosed the records required by the original law and that personal information of at least 43 victims was exposed in released files; this is a legislative advocacy announcement, not an enforcement action imposing a penalty or remedy.
$1.9M
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a settlement after an investigation found Dollar General stores routinely charged customers more than advertised or posted prices and issued confusing receipts. Dollar General must donate $1.875 million in food and personal items to Foodlink and implement pricing, receipt, training, and audit reforms.
New York Attorney General Letitia James released an updated guide warning voters that AI-generated election content and chatbots may provide misleading information. This is public guidance, not an enforcement action, and the release describes no penalty or privacy violation.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan coalition of 39 other attorneys general filed a motion in Character Technologies, Inc.’s bankruptcy, citing risks to children and sensitive user information and potential violations of state privacy laws. The coalition asks the court, the company, and any prospective buyer to require meaningful privacy and safety protections; no fine or final remedy is reported.