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Friday, Nov. 7, 2025

Are refugees eligible for SNAP assistance?

Tallulah Anne, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
no

Refugees are no longer eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits following the Nov. 1 implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

The law imposes new restrictions on SNAP eligibility for noncitizens, reversing long-standing policies that allowed refugees to receive assistance upon arrival in the U.S. State agencies like the Arizona Department of Economic Security, which administers SNAP locally, must now comply with the federal restrictions, resulting in a loss of benefits for thousands of refugee households. 

Nationally, about 434,000 refugees received SNAP assistance in fiscal year 2023, compared to more than 35.5 million U.S. born citizens. In Arizona, around 6,000 refugees received assistance compared to 870,000 U.S. born citizens. Advocates and resettlement organizations have expressed concern that the new law could worsen food insecurity among vulnerable refugee families transitioning to life in the U.S.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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