Key Details from USDA Findings
In court filings, a USDA official described a preliminary review of state data that found several types of potential fraud and abuse, including:
300,000 potential instances of deceased individuals still enrolled in SNAP.
Over 500,000 instances of “dummy” Social Security numbers being used.
Households receiving multiple payments or individuals receiving benefits in multiple states.
Undocumented Immigrants and SNAP:
Federal law prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving SNAP benefits; generally, only U.S. citizens and eligible legal residents can receive them. However, the USDA has made this a focus of recent crackdowns following a presidential executive order.
Government Shutdown: The current government shutdown, which started in October 2025, has added urgency to the situation, with the USDA Secretary making the fraud findings public as a means to encourage congressional action on funding and program reform. The lack of a funding resolution threatens to disrupt benefits for millions of Americans.