Democratic attorneys general from 21 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Wednesday to stop the federal government from cutting off Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits for certain lawful immigrants, including refugees and people granted asylum.

The states say the administration, including Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, is attempting to impose restrictions never approved by Congress and is putting vulnerable families at risk.

“It’s wild that we’re here the day before Thanksgiving,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, who filed the suit, said in a press release. “We’re the wealthiest country in the world, and no one should go hungry. When this memo came out, we thought it must be a mistake. The law is clear, and this is not how you treat people.”

The USDA declines to comment when reached by Newsweek, deferring to the Department of Justice, which has yet to comment.

The challenge is the latest in a series of disputes between states and the federal government over the administration’s handling of SNAP. Earlier this year, the administration sought to pause the program during the government shutdown, prompting concern from anti-hunger advocates and state agencies that depend on federal funding to distribute monthly food allowances.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oregon, challenges guidance the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued to states on October 31 outlining how to implement provisions of the recent tax and spending law.

State officials contend the USDA’s instructions misrepresent what the law actually changed and go far beyond what Congress authorized. According to the complaint, the department’s guidance wrongly classifies “several groups of legal immigrants as ineligible for food assistance,” including lawful permanent residents who were admitted as refugees or granted asylum.

Attorneys general said they asked the USDA last week to revise or withdraw the guidance, but the agency did not respond. In the meantime, they said, state administrators were left scrambling to interpret instructions they believe are illegal, and that could strip food aid from thousands of eligible households.

The states also argue that the USDA failed to give them adequate time to adjust their systems. Under federal rules, states typically receive 120 days to implement new eligibility requirements without facing significant financial penalties. But according to the lawsuit, the USDA gave states only one day to comply, leaving agencies unable to update computer systems, notify recipients, or evaluate the consequences of the changes.

When the new policy was announced in July, Rollins said she was ensuring that illegal immigrants would not receive public benefits, despite instances of this being extremely rare, as most non-permanent residents are not eligible for SNAP benefits. She argued that tightening restrictions was a way the USDA was implementing Trump’s “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” executive order.

State officials warn that the new penalties for providing benefits to groups the USDA now considers ineligible are so steep that states could be forced to halt their SNAP programs entirely if they fail to comply. That threat, they argue, underscores the urgency of blocking the guidance until a court can review it.

In addition to Oregon, the lawsuit was joined by California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, in a press release on Wednesday: “The federal government’s shameful quest to take food away from children and families continues. USDA has no authority to arbitrarily cut entire groups of people out of the SNAP program, and no one should go hungry because of the circumstances of their arrival to this country. My office will always fight to protect Americans’ SNAP benefits, and I will do everything in my power to shield New Yorkers from this unlawful policy.”

Matthew Dickerson, director of Budget Policy at the Economic Policy Innovation Center, told Newsweek in October: “I think many Americans are shocked to learn that the federal government is spending so much of their hard-earned tax dollars on welfare for non-citizens.”

The lawsuit asks Federal District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai, a Biden appointee, to vacate and block the USDA guidance.