Following the U.S. Department of Agriculture's move to acquire personal data about those who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Tuesday that he has filed a lawsuit, saying the department's request "violates multiple federal privacy laws" as well as the U.S. Constitution.

SNAP, otherwise known as the food stamp program, gives low-income Americans credits to be used for buying groceries.

Earlier this year, the USDA announced it wanted personal information of all SNAP applicants and recipients, including Social Security numbers and addresses dating back five years, to prevent fraud and abuse. 

Ellison's office says a year's worth of SNAP recipient data has sensitive and personal identifying information on more than 400,000 people in Minnesota.

His office notes that both federal and state law prohibit Minnesota from giving personally identifying SNAP data unless it is necessary for the program, or if there are other limiting circumstances.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has also joined the lawsuit, which includes the attorneys general from a total of 22 states. Aside from Minnesota and Wisconsin, the other states signing onto the suit include California, New York, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, as well as the District of Columbia. 

Click here to see the data sharing guidance provided by the USDA in early May, and click here to see the executive order issued by Trump regarding what he outlined as the stoppage of monetary waste as well as fraud and abuse.