The threat of a lapse in funding for the nation’s food stamp program has put a spotlight on the expansion of the nutrition safety net and the millions of dollars spent on migrants and fraudulent claims.
Republicans say it’s time to rein it in.
The Department of Agriculture has launched a probe into food stamp fraud, Secretary Brooke Rollins said, and is cracking down on states that allow unauthorized immigrants to access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, traditionally known as food stamps.
On Capitol Hill, a Republican House lawmaker is drafting legislation that would bar any noncitizen from SNAP and other social welfare benefits.
“The fact of the matter is we should not be borrowing money from our children and grandchildren to give welfare to immigrants, legal or otherwise,” Rep. Randy Fine, Florida Republican, told The Washington Times.
Mr. Fine said the legislation he plans to introduce within the next few weeks addresses a core issue angering taxpayers who are fed up with the cost of mass migration.
Democrats have resisted new restrictions on who gets the benefits, arguing that vulnerable people would be cut off from nourishment and that unauthorized immigrants are already barred.
According to the center-right American Enterprise Institute, nearly 1.2 million households that receive SNAP benefits include either an unauthorized immigrant or a noncitizen green card holder.
“In a world where we have a $37 trillion debt, we need to cut them off, and we need to cut them off cold,” Mr. Fine said. “And if you want free stuff, go home.”
More than 42 million people rely on SNAP, more than double the number enrolled in 2000. The cost of the program has increased by sixfold, thanks in part to the expansion of benefits over the decades.
SNAP’s price tag swelled more than 25% under President Biden, according to USDA data.
While most people who use the program are American citizens, a rising portion of those collecting money are not. Many are unauthorized immigrants who tap into the funds on behalf of their U.S.-born children, while others are eligible under the asylum program that exploded under Mr. Biden.
As immigration has climbed over the past several years, taxpayer-funded food benefits have also expanded.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the nation’s population grew by nearly 3.3 million between 2023 and 2024. It was the fastest annual population growth since 2001 and nearly all of it was international migration.
Many are using government benefits, despite laws that technically prohibit it.
Almost half of all households headed by an unauthorized immigrant use one or more government-funded food programs, according to a report from the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports reducing immigration to the U.S.
Unauthorized immigrants aren’t supposed to legally access food stamps, but they get the funding on behalf of their U.S.-born children, who are eligible for SNAP as well as federally funded free school lunches and WIC, the nutrition program for infants and mothers. The CIS analysis found 17% of unauthorized immigrant households use SNAP.
The program’s eligibility was also broadened to allow more childless adults to access benefits, while fraud has grown along with the size of the program.
Ms. Rollins said her office has uncovered shocking cases of SNAP fraud and abuse.
One man was collecting SNAP benefits from six different states, Ms. Rollins said, adding that theft of funds from SNAP EBT cards has spiked significantly in the past several years.
Department officials uncovered criminals and international crime rings stealing funds from EBT cards by installing card skimmers and other technologies.
In May, the Justice Department charged six people, among them a USDA employee who collaborated to steal $66 million in SNAP money in one of the largest food stamp fraud schemes in history.
Ms. Rollins said her department has launched an investigation into SNAP fraud and abuse and has ordered states to stop providing food stamp benefits to unauthorized immigrants. She’s asked every state to turn over its SNAP data so her department can audit who is receiving the benefits.
Nearly every Democrat-run state has refused to provide the information.
Washington, which is among the states refusing to provide the federal government with SNAP data, said in a lawsuit seeking to block access to the information that it would be used by the Homeland Security Department, “for unauthorized purposes — specifically immigration enforcement.”
The program’s size and cost are getting renewed attention as the Trump administration tries to provide emergency funding for SNAP amid a government shutdown that has lasted five weeks.
The Trump administration, acting under the orders of a federal judge, said Monday it will pay 50% of food stamp benefits this month amid the government shutdown, but said once that’s done, it won’t be able to pay anymore.
“I guess the silver lining in all of this is that we’re having a national conversation on our SNAP program, that this has sort of shined a light on a program that, especially under the last administration, has just become so bloated, so broken, so dysfunctional, so corrupt, that it is astonishing when you dig in,” Ms. Rollins said.
In July, new restrictions on SNAP were signed into law by Mr. Trump.
The provisions, included in the GOP’s tax cut bill, expand work requirements for those receiving SNAP and end eligibility for some immigrants who have been granted asylum or refugee status.
States must pay a higher share of administrative costs under the new law and will, for the first time, be required to fund a portion of SNAP benefits if they have a high payment error rate.
Ms. Rollins said more reforms are coming.
“We’ve got a lot of people listening now, which is very, very helpful,” she said. “And we’re going to take that program back to its original intent of helping those who are truly needy in our communities, but not to have a massive welfare benefit where so many people are taking advantage of it that shouldn’t.”
