Action steps

In light of the federal cuts to SNAP as a result of the harmful Republican Megabill (H.R. 1), the Coalition is focused on securing state-funded SNAP benefits for immigrants at risk of losing access to SNAP as well as legally present immigrants barred from the program. This fall, DTA projects roughly 9,600 legally present refugees, asylees, victims of human trafficking, battered immigrants and humanitarian parolees will lose access to SNAP. Immigrants who have successfully secured legal permanent residency (“green card” status) should not lose benefits.

Although the Coalition was successul in securing state funding in FY24, there was NO funding included in the FY25 State Budget signed by the Governor on 7/4/25.

Action Steps

  1. Contact your State Rep and State Senator to share stories of how the lack of food benefits has impacted immigrant families in their districts. Ask them to co-sponsor H. 207 and S.117, An Act Establishing Basic Needs Assistance for Massachusetts Immigrants. See Fact Sheet here.

  2. Contact Governor Healey and urge her to include funding for state SNAP benefits in both a Supplemental FY26 budget and in her FY27 State budget.

  3. Send a letter in support of state-funded SNAP to Governor Healey’s Anti-Hunger Task Force. Contact Pat Baker to learn how to submit testimony. pbaker@mlri.org

  4. Build support through community outreach! Check in with your local health centers, food pantries and faith communities. Encourage them to contact their Representative, Senator and the Governor to fund state-SNAp benefits.

    We encourage you to include in your letters individual stories or case examples as those are the most powerful. Here’s examples of testimony, examples of individual stories we've posted and research documenting the harm.

Contact your legislators.

Questions? Email Pat Baker or Tasmiah Ahmad, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, at PBaker@mlri.org. or TAhmad@mlri.org