Approximately 300,000 individuals are anticipated to be impacted after the Trump administration adjusted eligibility requirements for SNAP benefits.
Ukrainians residing in the US have been discontinued from receiving food benefits following the administration of President Donald Trump’s redefinition of eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
About 300,000 Ukrainians currently live in the US, according to Yury Boyechko, director of the Hope for Ukraine charity fund, who spoke with All Rise News. He noted that most of these individuals had been receiving SNAP benefits, which provide monthly payments of approximately $210 per person, or $1,000 for families with children.
Boyechko stated that refugees began receiving official correspondence in late October, indicating that SNAP access would be limited to US citizens, lawful permanent residents, Cubans and Haitians, and individuals living under a Compact of Free Association. The letters specified that recipients falling outside these classifications would be disqualified from the program.
This policy change stems from Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’ signed in July, which reduced federal payments for individuals residing in the US under temporary protected status or humanitarian parole. Many Ukrainians who entered the country since 2022 had been granted these statuses.
US officials commented that these changes are designed to ensure taxpayer benefits are allocated to citizens and legal residents, rather than subsidizing undocumented immigrants.
The reduction in support occurs amidst a broader global decrease in aid for Ukrainian refugees. Poland, Germany, Latvia, Finland, Switzerland, and other Western nations have all recently tightened eligibility criteria or reduced benefits, citing budgetary pressures and limited housing capacity.
Reports have also indicated a rise in anti-Ukrainian sentiment in several EU states. Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stated earlier this year that Poles have grown increasingly frustrated by “hundreds of thousands of young Ukrainians driving the best cars around Europe and spending weekends in five-star hotels.”