LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a 20-state coalition to tell the USDA exactly where to shove its massive data demand: into a lawsuit.

The USDA, under a Trump executive order, recently required states to turn over five years’ worth of personal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipient data – including Social Security numbers, home addresses, income, and immigration status – under the claim of wanting to detect overpayments and fight fraud. Michigan’s name for the program is the Food Assistance Program (FAP).

Nessel is the Michigan resistance against the president.

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Michigan Democratic AG Dana Nessel, who has filed approximately 26 lawsuits against President Trump, said in a statement, “This is yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to illegally use personal, sensitive data to fuel the president’s political agenda under the guise of fighting fraud and abuse.”

Nessel continued in her statement, “My colleagues and I will not allow this administration to trample on constitutional protections or unlawfully exploit the SNAP program in this way. Michigan families deserve to have their personal information protected, and I will keep fighting until they receive exactly that.”

Fraud claims and privacy concerns.

President Trump and Republican leaders are working to eliminate fraud in the food stamp program, aiming to ensure that benefits go to those who truly qualify. Nessel and other Democrats however, contend that Trump is amassing huge databases, using information from “every possible source” for the president’s agenda. Nessel says these databases of personal information on Americans will be used for “undisclosed purposes including immigration enforcement.” In fact, the first paragraph in her press release is about the data fueling Trump’s “mass deportation machine.”

States vs. federal government.

The suit by the Democratic attorneys general argues USDA’s demand violates federal privacy laws, skipped required public comment, exceeds USDA’s statutory authority, and breaches the Spending Clause by conditioning SNAP funding on compliance. The states are asking the court to declare USDA’s actions unlawful.

Almost $250 million goes to SNAP recipients in Michigan.

SNAP is one of the largest federal assistance programs in the U.S., providing benefits to roughly 42 million people each month – more than 12% of the population – at an annual cost of around $100 billion. In Michigan alone, nearly 1.5 million residents receive about $248 million in monthly benefits, adding up to nearly $3 billion a year.