In a significant legal move, Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown has initiated a lawsuit against Fidelity Information Services (FIS).
The lawsuit aims to prevent the company from sharing personal data of residents who are either applicants or recipients of food assistance benefits with federal authorities. This legal action seeks to block the dissemination of such information to immigration enforcement agencies.
According to The Post Millennial, the lawsuit highlights concerns that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service Division (USDA) plans to share this sensitive data with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The USDA's request for states to provide details on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants dating back five years has raised alarms about potential misuse of this information for immigration enforcement under President Trump's administration.
The lawsuit explicitly states, "USDA has made clear it intends to share this information with other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for unauthorized purposesspecifically, immigration enforcement."
The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services has a contract with FIS to manage benefit payments, including those for SNAP. Attorney General Brown emphasized the importance of safeguarding personal data, stating, "People who need food assistance for themselves and their families should be able to trust that their data will be protected and kept private."
The state has requested a court order to prevent Fidelity from disclosing potentially confidential information to the USDA and seeks a declaration that such actions would breach the existing contract. The contract stipulates that sharing information requires "the expressed written consent" of the state's Department of Social and Health Services.
Brown further asserted, "If a contractor fails to uphold the terms they've agreed to, we will hold them accountable under the law." He also contended that the disclosure would violate both the Washington Consumer Protection Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination. Despite these contractual obligations, the USDA maintains that it can legally obtain SNAP data directly from contractors without state agency involvement, as reported by KHQ.
Attorney General Brown criticized the Trump administration's efforts, suggesting they prioritize "deportation quotas over due process." Washington State's relationship with Fidelity began in 2015, entrusting the company with sensitive information such as names, Social Security numbers, addresses, and dates of birth of program participants, as noted by Courthouse News.
On May 6, the USDA informed state agency directors overseeing SNAP benefits that President Trump's executive order authorized the USDA to "consolidate SNAP data" from these agencies.
Subsequently, Fidelity informed Washington State's Department of Social and Health Services on May 9 of its intention to transfer SNAP cardholders' data to the USDA. However, on May 14, Attorney General Brown's office communicated to Fidelity that the state agency did not consent to this disclosure.
This legal battle underscores the tension between state privacy concerns and federal immigration enforcement priorities, raising questions about the balance between individual privacy rights and national security objectives.
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