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 and a coalition of other state attorneys general sued the federal government, challenging agreements that paid Bluepoint Wind and Invenergy to cancel offshore wind leases and redirect funds to other energy projects. The coalition asks the courts to declare the agreements unlawful, void the lease cancellations, and block further action to carry them out; the release does not report a penalty or court ruling.
$96.0M
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan multistate coalition secured more than $96 million in settlements with generic drug manufacturers accused of conspiring to raise prices and limit competition. The settlement proceeds are being distributed to eligible consumers, and settling defendants agreed to cooperate in ongoing cases and make reforms to prevent future misconduct.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 11 other attorneys general secured enforceable commitments from Paramount Skydance Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. to protect entertainment industry workers during their merger. Paramount must release at least 30 films per year, invest $1.5 billion in domestic film production, and create an independent editorial board for CNN and CBS. The consent decree also requires Paramount to sell Miramax and pay penalties if it fails to meet production requirements.
$352K
New York Attorney General Letitia James settled with Brooklyn High Rise LLC for illegally denying housing to prospective tenants based on housing court records, a practice known as tenant blacklisting. The company also charged non-refundable 'good faith' deposits. Brooklyn High Rise will pay $352,250 in penalties and restitution and must end its unlawful tenant screening practices.
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued an industry alert urging workers with knowledge of unsafe or illegal conduct in AI development to file confidential complaints through the OAG's secure whistleblower portal. The alert cites the OAG's monitoring of cybersecurity, economic, and other safety risks from emerging AI, and highlights the RAISE Act (effective January 1, 2027), which will require large AI developers to publicly disclose safety measures and report security incidents, as well as the SHIELD Act's data security requirements. No company was named, charged, or penalized; the alert signals impending OAG enforcement authority over AI developers.