The Trump administration is leveraging food assistance programs to target immigrants, potentially impacting families and children's access to necessary benefits. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins emphasized a need to eliminate perceived incentives for illegal immigration within food programs. While the memo does not alter current eligibility, experts warn it spreads misinformation, causing fear among immigrant families. Advocates argue this strategy echoes previous efforts during Trump’s first term, threatening vulnerable communities and leading to greater misconceptions about immigrant benefit eligibility, despite longstanding restrictions on undocumented individuals accessing certain programs.
Undocumented immigrants have been ineligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), which is used by more than 42 million people, long before Trump's first term.
Rollins's directive does not change people's access, but it is spreading misinformation about undocumented immigrants and could create a chilling effect among immigrant and mixed-status families.
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