(The Center Square) – Each year, the United States provides government food stamps to 1.47 to 1.86 million noncitizens, costing taxpayers nearly $3 billion annually.
This is according to the annual reports of the US Department of Agriculture for its Supplement Nutritional Assistance Program.
“Only U.S. citizens and certain individuals who are lawfully present in the United States are eligible to receive SNAP benefits,” U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman Hal Sullivan said in an email to The Center Square. “SNAP is not and has never been available to undocumented individuals. Noncitizens, such as tourists and students, are generally ineligible. Noncitizens who are eligible based on their immigration status must meet SNAP eligibility requirements, such as income and asset limits, and may also be subject to a waiting period.”
People who are eligible for food stamps include refugees, persons granted asylum, victims of human trafficking, people whose deportation has been prevented, Americans, immigrants from Cuba and Haiti, special immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan, green card holders, abused noncitizens, immigrants on parole, and people who have been granted parole for a period of one year or more.
As of April 2024SNAP had 41.58 million participants and annual benefits amounted to about $90 billion.
In 2022There were 1.46 million noncitizens receiving SNAP, at an annual cost of $2.95 billion. This is the most recent year for which data is available. In 2019, there were 1.44 million noncitizens receiving food stamps, at an annual cost of $2.12 billion. In 20151.86 million nonresidents received SNAP benefits, at an annual cost of $2.97 billion.
