By Tom Gantert (The Center Square)
The United States provides between 1.47 million and 1.86 million non-citizens with federal food stamps each year, at a cost to taxpayers of about $3 billion annually.
This is according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual report on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
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“Only U.S. citizens and certain lawfully present noncitizens are eligible for SNAP benefits,” USDA spokesman Hal Sullivan told The Center Square in an email. “SNAP is not and has not been available to undocumented noncitizens. Noncitizens, such as tourists and students, are generally not eligible. Noncitizens who qualify based on their immigration status must meet SNAP eligibility requirements, such as income and resource limits, and may be subject to a waiting period.”
Noncitizens who are eligible to receive food coupons include refugees, individuals granted asylum, victims of severe human trafficking, persons withheld from removal, Amerasians, Cuban and Haitian entrants, special immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan, green card holders, noncitizens who are victims of domestic violence, conditional entrants, and persons granted parole for more than one year, who are also eligible to receive SNAP.
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As of April 2024SNAP had 41.58 million participants, and annual benefit costs were about $90 billion.
~ inside 2022There were 1.46 million non-citizens enrolled in SNAP, and the annual cost was $2.95 billion. This is the most recent year for which data is available. In 2019, there were 1.44 million non-citizens enrolled in food stamps, and the annual cost was $2.12 billion. 2015There were 1.86 million nonresidents receiving SNAP benefits, at a cost of $2.97 billion annually.
Co-published with permission from Center Square.
