The Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act has stripped Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility from refugees, asylum seekers and other noncitizens, narrowing a program once available to a broader range of legally present immigrants.
Under the law, signed July 4, 2025, SNAP eligibility is now limited to U.S. citizens, green card holders, certain immigrants from Cuba and Haiti, and immigrants from the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau.
The law also cut off other immigrants lacking permanent resident status, including survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, who previously qualified despite not holding a green card. People in the country illegally were already barred from federal public benefits, but refugees and asylum seekers had carried legal protections regardless of their status until the law took effect.
The impact has been steep. Nationwide SNAP participation fell 10% in the months following enactment, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which studies policies affecting low-income people — roughly 4 million fewer people receiving food assistance, not all of them noncitizens. Arizona recorded the sharpest drop of any state, an estimated 47% decline over the same period.
Illinois Representative Mary Miller defended the restrictions as a matter of principle rather than a technical eligibility change. “SNAP benefits: AMERICANS ONLY. Medicaid benefits: AMERICANS ONLY. Housing assistance: AMERICANS ONLY. College grants and scholarships: AMERICANS ONLY. Refundable tax credits: AMERICANS ONLY,” Miller said. “American tax dollars should only benefit AMERICANS. It really is that simple.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who has shaped much of the administration’s immigration agenda, has defended the broader push by alleging that noncitizens have long exploited weak enforcement of benefit programs. He said immigrants take advantage of an “honor system” by misreporting income to qualify for aid, and claimed immigrants receive “unlimited free money forever” without facing eligibility requirements or vetting.
Supporters of the law argue the tightened eligibility rules simply restore SNAP to its intended recipients. “American tax dollars should only benefit AMERICANS,” Miller said. “It really is that simple.”
With enrollment continuing to fall and Arizona still posting the nation’s steepest decline, the scope of the administration’s restrictions is likely to remain a flashpoint as the next reporting period on SNAP participation comes due.
