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.
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a coalition lawsuit challenging NHTSA’s rollback of federal fuel economy standards. The coalition alleges that the final rule violates federal law and asks the court to strike it down; the press release describes no privacy violations or monetary penalty.
$400.0M
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 47 other attorneys general secured a $400 million settlement with Sandoz Inc. and Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc. over an alleged scheme to coordinate generic drug prices and reduce competition. The settlement provides for consumer compensation and requires Sandoz to implement antitrust compliance reforms, including annual staff training and a Chief Compliance Officer.
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined eight other attorneys general in issuing a statement criticizing a DOJ judicial misconduct complaint against nearly all federal district court judges in Minnesota. The release concerns judicial independence, not a privacy enforcement action; it announces no penalty or privacy-related remedy.
$5.9M
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Evolutions Festival LLC and 845 Vibrations LLC over the cancellation of the 2025 festival and their failure to refund ticket holders and vendors. The state alleges violations of laws governing advance ticket-sale funds and seeks restitution, civil penalties of $5,000 for each of 1,185 alleged violations, and an order requiring a $500,000 bond before the organizers can hold future cultural events in New York.
$25K
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a consumer alert warning businesses not to charge unconscionably excessive prices for essential goods and services during the storm emergency. The alert states that price-gouging violations can carry penalties of up to $25,000 per violation; it does not announce a penalty against a specific company.