Thousands of legally present immigrants in Massachusetts at risk of losing federal food aid would be eligible for state-funded benefits under a legislative proposal aimed at addressing growing food insecurity.
The measure, proposed by state Rep. Antonio Cabral, a New Bedford democrat, would create a state-funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program with benefits and eligibility that match the federal level but without restrictions based on immigration status or citizenship.
SNAP is a federal program administered at the state level, with benefits and eligibility determined by Congress.
The federal policy shift will push many immigrants into “deepening poverty,” Cabral told the Legislature’s Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities.
In Worcester, 25.8% of households received SNAP benefits as of 2021, according to the Worcester Community Food Assessment. Under new federal restrictions signed into law this summer, certain lawfully present immigrants with humanitarian protections, including refugees, asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking, will lose access to SNAP.
The federal restrictions exclude about 10,000 immigrants in Massachusetts from SNAP benefits and affect their U.S. citizen children, according to an analysis by the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.
Worcester food pantries have reported widespread fear among immigrants in response to the policy changes.
At Jeremiah’s Inn Food Pantry in Worcester’s Main South neighborhood, 65% of clients are not enrolled in SNAP despite often being eligible, said Alyssa Dancause, director of community engagement. Language barriers, lack of awareness and fear related to immigration status often prevent low-income immigrants from accessing food aid, she said.
“People are afraid to put that they are an immigrant on any kind of documentation that could be traced back to them,” she said. The pantry is working on providing appointment and delivery services because some clients are concerned about waiting in line outside.
Food pantries are also feeling the impact of reduced funding. Food banks in Massachusetts lost $3.4 million in federal support, which “trickles down to all of the food pantries,” Dancause said.
Meanwhile, demand for food assistance continues to rise, said the Rev. John Madden, pastor of St. John Church in downtown Worcester. The church hosts a food pantry, St. John Food for the Poor, which serves emergency food supplies to 250 to 300 families each Saturday and provides prepared meals during the week.
“We have certainly seen an increase in people coming,” Madden said, noting that the Legislature should give higher priority to food security.
The federal change represents a “nationwide attack to demonize people who are on SNAP benefits,” according to the policy team of U.S. Rep. James McGovern of Worcest4er.
“That takes place in the context of prices going up,” McGovern’s communications director said. “They are stretching people’s budgets more and more.”
In December 2023, the state Legislature approved $6 million to extend SNAP benefits to all legally present immigrants who met the program’s income requirements. The Department of Transitional Assistance launched the program in February 2024 but shut it down two months later because of a lack of funding. Cabral filed an amendment to revive the program, but the House dismissed it.
McGovern’s policy team expressed concern that the growing hunger crisis now relies on state funding to address, saying the federal government is “shifting an enormous burden” onto states. “They do not have the funds necessary to cover benefits that were previously covered by the federal government.”