Colorado joined 21 other states in a lawsuit seeking to undo the Trump administration’s campaign to stop taxpayer-funded food aid from going to individuals illegally staying in the U.S., arguing the move also implicated a group of noncitizens who should be eligible to get the benefits under the law.

At issue is a guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that implements the provisions of the congressional budget passed in July. That budget narrowed the groups of noncitizens who could receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that some 90,000 on average will lose eligibility per month as a result of the new law. The individuals would have received about $210 per month on average, according to the office.

The lawsuit filed by the states argues that the USDA is incorrectly implementing the congressional budget’s provisions on SNAP. Specifically, the states said their lawsuit deals with food stamp eligibility for legal permanent residents, regardless of the route they took before their immigration status was adjusted.

The states said the USDA has excluded legal permanent residents or green card holders based on their previous status, including refugees, people granted an asylum and parolees.

Many of the individuals who crossed American borders illegally have been “paroled” into the U.S. Often, they apply for an asylum once they are inside the United States. Many of the thousands who arrived in metro Denver over the past two years, for example, have sought an asylum. Once granted an asylum, they can apply to adjust their status to permanent residency within one year of living in the U.S.

In their lawsuit, the attorneys general also noted that the congressional budget imposes “massive financial penalties” on states for their error rates in issuing SNAP payments. But the USDA gave them only one day — as opposed to 120 — as grace period for any misapplication of the new law.

As such, the states now face “massive penalties,” they said.

Under the federal law, a state with a high error rate for SNAP would be required to pick up a larger share of SNAP benefits. Depending on their error rate, they would have to pick up 5% to 15% of the program’s costs.

In 2024, Colorado’s error rate was 9.97%, a combination based on an overpayment rate of 7.91% and an underpayment rate of 2.06%. At 5%, that translates to a $6 million cost for Colorado, based on the current error rate. At 15%, it’s $18 million.

“This guidance will also create widespread confusion for families, increase the risk of wrongful benefit terminations, erode public trust, and place states in an impossible situation where they must either violate federal law or accept severe financial liability,” Attorney Phil Weiser, who is running for governor, said in a statement. “In the end, those who are legally eligible for food assistance will be harmed, and that is why we are filing suit.”

In pushing for that change, the Trump administration and its allies have argued that people illegally staying in the country should not be getting federal benefits.

“The generosity of the American taxpayer has long been abused by faulty interpretations of 1996 welfare reform law,” Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in July. “Today’s notice makes clear its intent — illegal aliens should not receive government dollars. This effort is one of many by the Department of Agriculture to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse of USDA’s programs and policies.”

Weiser’s office did not respond to questions about how much in penalties Colorado faces, how many immigrants are receiving SNAP benefits in Colorado and how many refugees and asylum seekers in the state have gone on to become citizens.

Weiser’s office also did not respond to a question when asked about arguments from Rollins and others that the USDA guidance will stop the “abuse” of “the generosity of the American taxpayer” by no longer rewarding bad behavior, such as illegally entering the United States.