U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said this week that the federal government would start withholding money to help run the SNAP food aid program from states that don't provide data on participants, including their immigration status.

The department said the government needs the data to spot fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps 42 million Americans, or about 1 in 8, buy groceries.

The plan to withhold the administrative funds is an escalation of a legal battle that's been going on since shortly after President Donald Trump took office. It's decidedly partisan. Only states led by Democrats have failed to provide the information the administration seeks.

Here's what to know.

Billions could be at stake for states

SNAP costs federal taxpayers about $1

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