Trump administration demands crackdown on illegal immigrants potentially taking advantage of key benefit

The United States Department of Agriculture is demanding that states ensure illegal immigrants are not using food stamps.

The department wants states to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order from February that seeks improved methods to check that those in the country illegally do not receive federal benefits, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The measure is meant to crack down on fraud and serve as a safeguard because illegal immigrants are already not allowed to use SNAP benefits. Only citizens and some legal noncitizens can do so.

"We've already made arrests in Minnesota and New York and Colorado, and we're just getting started," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News Digital in an interview.

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"We're going to be extremely, extremely aggressive. Now, hopefully it acts as a deterrent also."

The USDA is asking states to cross-check Social Security numbers with a death master file and to use the free Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system provided by the Department of Homeland Security for noncitizens applying for the benefits, among other steps to verify immigration status.

Rollins said it's "the president's vision to ensure that we're being the most efficient and effective with taxpayer dollars."

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"So, we think we'll be able to cut down on billions of fraud and save the taxpayers a lot of money," she said. 

John Walk, acting deputy under secretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services, wrote in a letter Thursday to state SNAP agencies, explaining the existing law. 

"By law, only United States citizens and certain lawfully present aliens may receive SNAP benefits. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193) established that ‘aliens within the Nation’s borders not depend on public resources to meet their needs.’  SNAP is not and has never been available to illegal aliens," Walk wrote. 

The crackdown comes as there is heightened scrutiny on the eligibility of illegal immigrants for benefits, such as California’s Medicaid program that allows people to enroll without their immigration status being considered, even though it's funded by state and federal taxpayer dollars.

California Republicans have said illegal immigrants' eligibility in the program is responsible for its insolvency, whereas Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said it's only a factor in a larger healthcare cost issue nationwide.

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"The federal government is now paying attention a lot more closely than ever before on how the states are spending the money," Rollins said. "I am from Texas. I actually have a lot of confidence in the Texas system. I think the red states, honestly, are probably a little more intentional and careful about this. Of course, it's the blue states that tend to want to put everyone on the taxpayers' back. And I think that we'll find a lot more of that moving forward, but hopefully it's a deterrence for everyone." 

Outside of immigration, SNAP has also faced calls for reform in several states to no longer allow the purchase of "junk food." Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently asked the USDA to allow the state to prohibit the purchase of candy and soda with SNAP benefits, while adding rotisserie chicken to the list of available options. 

"President Trump and his administration have put a laser focus on solving America’s chronic disease epidemic, and reforming our food stamp program is a great place to start," Sanders said in a news release April 15. 

"Banning soda and candy from food stamps will remove some of the least healthy, most processed foods from the program and encourage low-income Arkansans to eat better."