By Brian Lonergan, Chronicles - SNAP was not designed as a global buffet for recent illegal border-crossers; it’s a taxpayer-funded safety net created explicitly for U.S. citizens and legal residents in genuine need. Federal law bars illegal aliens from direct eligibility, a rule enshrined since the 1996 welfare reforms and reaffirmed in 2025 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidance: “SNAP is not and has never been available to undocumented non-citizens.”... The program’s architects intended that it should combat domestic food insecurity, not subsidize lawbreaking or reward evasion of immigration laws. Benefits are calculated based on eligible household members only: specifically, U.S.-born children or qualified legal immigrants. But here’s the rub: loopholes and lax enforcement have turned this safeguard into a sieve, draining billions from coffers meant for struggling Americans.