Attorney General Nessel Permanently Blocks Unlawful SNAP Eligibility Guidance

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has announced that a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon has permanently blocked the Trump administration from implementing unlawful guidance that sought to limit eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for certain categories of noncitizens, including those who are lawfully present.

The ruling makes permanent a preliminary injunction the court issued in December 2025 and goes further: The judge sided with Michigan and the coalition on every claim, striking down both the eligibility guidance and the administration's attempt to penalize states by backdating implementation deadlines.

“I’m relieved the Court rejected the Trump administration’s transparent attempt to exclude certain residents from SNAP benefits in violation of eligibility criteria set by Congress,” said Attorney General Nessel. “Food assistance puts meals on the table. States should not be punished for helping families do just that. My office will continue to defend Michigan residents and protect their access to critical services.”

In November 2025, Attorney General Nessel, a coalition of 21 other attorneys general, and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration after it moved to cut off SNAP benefits for tens of thousands of lawfully present immigrants and set a retroactive deadline that put states at risk of paying hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.

The administration later reversed its position on eligibility but continued to argue that states owed fines for missing a “grace period” that, in practice, had already expired before the administration finished issuing guidance on the changes.

The court found that the administration's deadline was unlawful and arbitrary, and that the administration's guidance improperly excluded certain lawfully present immigrants, including former refugees and people granted asylum, from food assistance they are legally entitled to receive. In addition, the court found that the administration’s deadline was unlawful as it related to other changes to SNAP eligibility calculations from the 2025 Republican budget bill.

The decision makes it clear that:

• States cannot be penalized under the unlawful deadline the administration tried to impose.
• The standard five-year waiting period for SNAP does not apply to lawful permanent residents who were previously refugees, asylees, or other humanitarian immigrants.

Joining Attorney General Nessel in this lawsuit were the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

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