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The Person Helping You Apply for Food Stamps May Be Required to Report Your Family
Tennessee, Indiana, Wyoming, and Utah have all passed laws this year that force state and local social service workers to verify the immigration status of people applying for government benefits. In Indiana and Wyoming, those workers must also report anyone they suspect is undocumented to federal immigration authorities.
Tennessee went furthest. Its HB1710 covers all 95 public health departments and every state and local agency that administers federal, state, or local benefits. Workers who fail to comply face investigation by the state attorney general, possible jail time, or a loss of state funding for their agency.
Tennessee’s “Immigration 2026” agenda was written in coordination with White House advisor Stephen Miller.
How Each State’s Law Works
| State | Verification required | Must report to feds | Extends to household members | Penalties for workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | All state and local benefit agencies, all 95 public health depts | Yes | Not specified | Jail time, loss of agency funding |
| Indiana | SNAP, Medicaid applicants | Yes | Yes, all household members | Info sent to DHS and USDA |
| Wyoming | Public benefits applicants | Yes | Yes, anyone in the household | Mandatory referral to immigration authorities |
| Utah | Benefits applicants | No explicit mandate | No | Verification only |
Indiana’s law is especially invasive. When a family applies for SNAP benefits, the state must verify immigration status for every member of the household. If an applicant’s spouse, parent, or adult child cannot be verified, the agency must notify federal authorities. The person who applied may be a U.S. citizen. Their family member gets reported anyway.
Wyoming’s law works the same way. The state health department and department of family services must notify federal immigration authorities if anyone in the applicant’s household is undocumented.
The Chilling Effect Is Already Measurable
These laws do not just affect undocumented immigrants. They prevent eligible citizens and legal residents from seeking help they are entitled to.
The KFF/New York Times 2025 Survey of Immigrants found that 11% of immigrant adults stopped participating in food, housing, or healthcare programs after January 2025 because they feared drawing attention to their immigration status. One in five reported knowing someone who had been arrested, detained, or deported.
The Urban Institute found that nearly 25% of adults in mixed-status families avoided safety net programs because of green card concerns. That means U.S. citizen children go without food assistance because their parents are afraid to walk into the office.
“The new state laws will dissuade many people who are eligible for benefits from getting help they are entitled to, and force state and local officials to perform an immigration enforcement role for which they are ill equipped.” Stateline
Social Workers Did Not Sign Up for This
Social work is built on confidentiality and trust. A caseworker evaluating a family’s eligibility for food assistance is not trained in immigration law, does not have access to federal immigration databases, and has no business deciding who gets reported to ICE.
These laws turn the safety net into a surveillance net. A mother bringing her U.S.-born child to a public health clinic for a vaccination now has to weigh whether that visit will trigger a report on her husband. A family in crisis has to decide whether calling for help is worth the risk of deportation.
Louisiana passed a similar law last year. More states are expected to introduce copycat legislation in 2027.
What You Can Do
- Contact your state legislators. Use Resist Bot to tell your state representative and senator to oppose any bill that forces social service workers into immigration enforcement roles.
- Check your state’s pending bills. Search your state legislature’s website for bills requiring immigration verification for public benefits.
- Support legal challenges. Organizations like the ACLU and National Immigration Law Center are tracking these laws and preparing legal challenges.
- Spread the word in affected communities. Many eligible families do not know their rights. Share information about which benefits remain available regardless of immigration status.
- Push back on the framing. These laws are sold as preventing fraud. Undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for SNAP, Medicaid, and most federal benefits. The laws target their family members who are eligible.
This brief is part of our Immigration and Detention coverage. For Tennessee-specific developments, see Tennessee Just Turned Every County Jail Into an ICE Outpost.