ICYMI: Congressman Derek Tran Sounds the Alarm on Republicans’ SNAP Cuts in MS NOW Opinion

Mar

2026

PRESS RELEASE

ICYMI: Congressman Derek Tran Sounds the Alarm on Republicans’ SNAP Cuts in MS NOW Opinion

“If Anyone Asks What a Refugee Kid on SNAP Looks Like, I Say They Look Like Me” – Rep. Derek Tran

Garden Grove, CA – Today, frontline candidate Derek Tran, who represents the most competitive House seat in Southern California, wrote an op-ed in MS NOW Opinion slamming Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ unprecedented cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding.

Beginning April 1, refugees and asylum seekers across California will no longer qualify for SNAP benefits, as a direct result of $187 billion in cuts to SNAP funding through 2034 made by Republicans’ pro-billionaire “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed last year.

Congressman Tran, the proud son of Vietnamese refugees, U.S. Army Veteran, and the first Vietnamese American to represent Orange County in Congress, highlighted how these cuts will devastate hardworking Americans seeking to fulfill the promise of the American Dream that allowed his own family to succeed.

“I grew up on SNAP, WIC (Women, Infants and Children) and Medicaid, lived in Section 8 housing and attended public schools. Because of that foundation, I excelled. I served in the Army. I graduated from law school. I opened a business. Today, I represent California’s 45th District in Congress.”
“Those weren’t handouts. They were the fulfillment of a promise, a sacred agreement between my family, this community and the country we are proud to call home.”
“Now that promise is being broken.”
“The human cost of cutting SNAP for refugees will be immediate: hunger, untreated illness and destabilized households. The long-term cost to our communities and our economy will be just as steep.”
“A kid who grew up like I did might have been too hungry to do well in school, their parents might not have had the resources to open their own store, and they might not have had the opportunity to succeed and give back.”
“These impacts aren’t limited to one child or one family. When refugees have the resources they need to succeed, they open businesses, grow our economy and contribute to our communities.”
“Studies show that every dollar a child receives in SNAP benefits returns $62 in value over their lifetime. They do better in school, earn more in their jobs, contribute more in taxes and live longer.”
“This is just the beginning of the attack on vulnerable families in the Big Beautiful Bill. Hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose necessary food benefits this year, and by 2027, cuts to Medicaid will rip health care away from millions.”
“The people facing these cuts now are no different from my own family. They have the same hopes, the same dreams and the same ability to succeed when they are given the tools to do so…”
“That’s why I’m fighting so hard in Congress to protect funding for SNAP and ensure that every family has the opportunity to succeed, just like my family.”
“If anyone asks what a refugee kid on SNAP looks like, I say they look like me.”