A recent court ruling by a judge has abolished a deadline that could have resulted in states facing significant financial penalties amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. This decision has also successfully blocked federal guidance that limited Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for certain lawful permanent residents.
This significant ruling from an Oregon judge has permanently upheld a preliminary injunction that was initially issued in December 2025.
The judge’s decision effectively eliminates a problematic deadline that threatened to impose exorbitant penalties on states. Moreover, it also prevents the enforcement of guidance that unjustly restricted SNAP benefits for some lawful permanent residents.
In November 2025, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, along with 21 other state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over these policy changes.
At that time, the administration was attempting to terminate SNAP benefits for tens of thousands of lawful permanent residents while also enforcing a retroactive deadline for states to comply.
Although the administration eventually changed its stance on the eligibility of lawful permanent residents, it continued to maintain that states could incur fines for missing a “grace period” that had already elapsed by the time the new guidance was released.
The judge determined that the deadline in question was both unlawful and arbitrary. Additionally, the court highlighted that the federal guidance improperly denied food assistance to certain lawful permanent residents, including former refugees and individuals who were granted asylum, despite their entitlement to such support.
Furthermore, the ruling stated that the deadline was also unlawful concerning other modifications to SNAP eligibility calculations as outlined in the One Big Bill Act.
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