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.
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United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
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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.
$5.0M
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a settlement with cryptocurrency platform Uphold HQ, Inc. for misleading investors by promoting Cred’s fraudulent CredEarn investment product as a safe, reliable savings option when it involved risky loans to uncreditworthy borrowers. Uphold will pay $5 million to harmed investors, redirect $545,189 in Cred bankruptcy proceeds to affected customers, and implement enhanced due diligence policies for third-party investment products. Uphold must also register as a broker with the Office of the Attorney General.
New York Attorney General Letitia James led a bipartisan coalition of 24 state attorneys general, Puerto Rico, and New York City in sending letters to nine major credit card companies and payment processors urging them to block transactions facilitating illegal vaping product sales. The coalition cites federal and state laws prohibiting unauthorized e-cigarette sales, particularly to youth, and requests collaboration to prevent payment networks from processing such transactions. No enforcement penalties or actions were imposed as part of this initiative.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, leading a coalition of 40 state attorneys general, secured a jury verdict on April 15, 2026, against Live Nation and Ticketmaster for maintaining illegal monopolies in the live events industry. The jury found the companies engaged in anticompetitive practices including exclusive venue contracts, forcing competitors out of the market, and limiting artist performance choices, resulting in overcharged consumers. Remedies, including potential financial penalties and a monopoly breakup, are pending court approval.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, joined by 16 other states, sued the U.S. Department of Education over a new survey requiring colleges to submit extensive student data, arguing it violates the Administrative Procedure Act and threatens student privacy. The lawsuit seeks to block the mandate and prevent penalties for non-compliance.
A bipartisan coalition of 35 state attorneys general led by New York Attorney General Letitia James sent a demand letter to xAI on January 26, 2026, requiring the company to address its Grok chatbot’s creation and sharing of nonconsensual intimate images, including child sexual abuse material. The AGs demand that xAI implement safeguards to prevent Grok from generating such content, delete existing harmful content, suspend offending users, and give X users control over whether their content can be edited by Grok. No monetary penalty has been imposed as this is a pre-enforcement demand for action.