ST. PAUL — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Wednesday, Nov. 26, announced another lawsuit against the Trump administration over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, this time on behalf of immigrant groups he claims are being illegally barred from benefits.
The lawsuit, filed alongside 21 Democratic attorneys general, accuses the administration of violating federal law after the USDA issued guidance in late October permanently barring eligibility for certain immigrant groups, including asylum seekers and refugees.
“We rightly accept refugees fleeing war, famine and persecution, people seeking a better, safer life for themselves and their families, and then Donald Trump steps in to take food off their tables once they’re here,” Ellison said in a virtual press conference Wednesday.
The suit is the second Ellison has filed over SNAP — and the
42nd he’s filed against the Trump
administration since Trump took office in January, according to Ellison’s office.
“It seems to be his top priority, or one of them, after working day and night, to keep SNAP benefits turned off during the government shutdown,” Ellison said. “Here we are fighting again to make sure that people get the food that they need on the eve of an important American holiday.”
Attorney General Keith Ellison discusses Minnesota’s new lawsuit against the Trump administration over changes to SNAP eligibility for immigrants such as refugees and asylum seekers on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, during a virtual press conference.
Screenshot / Zoom
On Oct. 31, the
it claims is in accordance with the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” explaining that some immigrant groups, namely asylum seekers, refugees and parolees, are no longer eligible for SNAP. Non-citizen eligibility is now limited to green card holders, Cuban/Haitian entrants and Compacts of Free Association citizens, according to the USDA.
The attorneys general said Wednesday that the USDA is misinterpreting the law, arguing that the USDA’s guidance incorrectly states humanitarian immigrants are permanently ineligible even after adjusting status.
“Once again, Trump is not only morally wrong, he’s wrong on the law, and that’s saying something, considering it’s a law that he and his friends pushed through Congress,” Ellison said. “The big, ugly bill, which is all I can ever call it, doesn’t say anything about permanently kicking people who came to this country through legal humanitarian pathways off SNAP.”
Attorney General Keith Ellison, alongside attorneys general from California, Massachusetts and Oregon, discusses a new lawsuit against the Trump administration over SNAP eligibility for humanitarian immigrants on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, during a virtual press conference.
Screenshot / Zoom
In 2024 alone, there were
4,602 new arrivals to Minnesota with humanitarian immigration
statuses — 3,358 or 73% of those arrived with a refugee visa; 719 or 16% arrived as Ukrainian parolees; and the rest arrived as asylees, Cuban or Haitian entrants, Special Immigrant Visa holders and certified victims of trafficking, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
The largest populations arriving in Minnesota in 2024 were 1,490 from Somalia, 739 from Ukraine, 603 from Afghanistan and 272 from Ethiopia, according to MDH. Over 500 those new immigrants resettled in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, with Stearns County following.
The
previous SNAP lawsuit saw success
when two judges agreed with the attorneys general that the administration should have been tapping into emergency funds to supply SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, which lasted a record 43 days.
Ellison also said the USDA is supposed to give states 120 days to comply, but the USDA only gave one day to do so — potentially exposing states to costly penalties. The attorneys general said they plan to file a preliminary injunction later Wednesday.
Mary Murphy joined Forum Communications in October 2024 as the Minnesota State Correspondent. She can be reached by email at mmurphy@forumcomm.com.