SNAP eligibility for refugees
Compounding factors are squeezing the refugee community and making it increasingly difficult for them to live in America.
The USDA recently released a memo stating that refugees who had arrived in the last 5 years will lose SNAP eligibility permanently if they did not have citizenship or green card status starting November 1, 2025.
Abeer Naji, who has a green card, loads groceries into the back of her car on Thursday, November 13, 2025. Although she is not at risk of losing SNAP due to her status, she is worried for other mothers, children, and families in the resettlement community who will struggle if SNAP benefits are taken away permanently.
Abeer Naji prepares lamb dal for her husband on Thursday, November 13, 2025. Like many people who were invited to legally resettle in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons, Abeer and her husband depend on monthly SNAP payments and Medicaid coverage to get their feet off the ground in a new country.
Abeer's husband, who has ongoing health issues, receives a massage to help mitigate chronic neck and spine pain on Thursday, November 13, 2025. The refugee community is equally worried about the potential loss of Medicaid coverage in 2026.
Abeer's husband receives a massage to help mitigate chronic neck and spine pain on Thursday, November 13, 2025. The refugee community is perhaps even more worried about the potential loss of Medicaid coverage in 2026.
Abeer Naji, who has a green card, drives home from the grocery store on Thursday, November 13, 2025. Abeer estimates she's taught 17 people how to drive in the U.S.
Marmot Snetsinger, owner of a childcare center, hosted a food drive for 135 people a few weeks ago. She explained many refugee families have already experienced food shortages in their lives and there’s compounding factors making it feel like it’s impossible for refugees to live here right now.
Soft Landing's staff pour cups of chai during a break in meetings on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. They recently received notice that many of their clients who had arrived in the last 5 years were going to lose SNAP eligibility permanently starting November 1, 2025.
An art piece representing all of the places people have come from on their path to Montana hangs on the wall of Soft Landings, on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.
Mary Poole, one of the directors at Soft Landing, poses for a portrait on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.
Abeer Naji grabs lentils from a friend’s pantry on Thursday, November 13, 2025. Although she is not at risk of losing SNAP because of her green card, she worries about the loss of other vital services, like Medicaid, and the increasing pressure on the resettlement community.
A U.S. citizen, who arrived as a refugee, holds her daughters hand on Thursday, November 20, 2025. Although she is not at risk due to her U.S. citizenship, she is worried about fellow refugee mothers who will struggle to feed their children after SNAP benefits are taken away permanently.
A woman, who arrived as a refugee to the U.S. in the last 5 years and is going to lose SNAP benefits, poses for an anonymous portrait on Thursday, November 20, 2025. “Coming to America was a dream," she explained. "I am not safe here now."
A letter from Montana DPHHS notifying the change in SNAP eligibility for refugees and asylum seekers on Thursday, November 20, 2025.
A woman, who arrived as a refugee to the U.S. in the last 5 years and is going to lose SNAP benefits permanently, poses for anonymous portraits on Thursday, November 20, 2025.