“We think we'll be able to cut down on billions of fraud and save the taxpayers a lot of money,” Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said.
The Trump administration’s Department of Agriculture is directing states to ensure that food stamp benefits are not being granted to illegal immigrants.
The department is seeking for states to comply with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in February aimed at preventing federal benefits from being given to those not legally eligible. This includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which under federal law is reserved for US citizens and certain lawful noncitizens. Illegal immigrants are already ineligible for SNAP, but the administration says tighter enforcement is needed.
"We've already made arrests in Minnesota and New York and Colorado, and we're just getting started," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News. "We're going to be extremely, extremely aggressive. Now, hopefully it acts as a deterrent also."
The Department of Agriculture is requesting that states use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, provided by the Department of Homeland Security, to verify the immigration status of noncitizens who apply for benefits. States are also instructed to cross-check Social Security numbers with the Death Master File to prevent fraud.
Rollins said the directive is part of President Trump's vision “to ensure that we're being the most efficient and effective with taxpayer dollars."
“We think we'll be able to cut down on billions of fraud and save the taxpayers a lot of money,” she added.
A letter from Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services John Walk explained the existing law to state SNAP agencies, writing, "By law, only United States citizens and certain lawfully present aliens may receive SNAP benefits. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193) established that ‘aliens within the Nation’s borders not depend on public resources to meet their needs.’ SNAP is not and has never been available to illegal aliens.”
Several states, particularly those under Democratic leadership, have been working to expand benefits to illegal immigrants. For example, California’s Medicaid program allows individuals to enroll without considering their immigration status, despite the program being funded by taxpayer dollars.
"The federal government is now paying attention a lot more closely than ever before on how the states are spending the money," Rollins said. "I am from Texas. I actually have a lot of confidence in the Texas system. I think the red states, honestly, are probably a little more intentional and careful about this. Of course, it's the blue states that tend to want to put everyone on the taxpayers' back. And I think that we'll find a lot more of that moving forward, but hopefully it's a deterrence for everyone."
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