Existing Restrictions on Immigrants’ Eligibility for Federal Assistance Leave Little Left to Cut

Congressional leaders are considering legislation that would increase the deficit due to higher spending on immigration enforcement and defense programs while renewing and expanding tax breaks. This legislation would be expensive, likely consisting of hundreds of billions of dollars to immigration enforcement operations and funding for the department of defense, coupled with trillions of dollars in tax cuts. To pay for the resulting increase in the deficit, Congress is considering significant cuts to critical programs that help vulnerable Americans. Republicans intend to move this legislation through the reconciliation process, which requires only a majority vote to pass both the House and Senate.

As part of their proposed cuts, members of Congress have signaled they will try to limit immigrants’ eligibility for federal programs that improve their families’ access to health, food, and shelter as well as their eligibility for the Affordable Care Act and Child Tax Credits. The reality is immigrants are already excluded from most of these programs, so additional limits will target the crucial support for the most vulnerable members of society and undermine broader policy goals. This commentary reviews how existing statutory eligibility restrictions on immigrants implicate potential changes policymakers may consider.

Existing Immigrant Eligibility Restrictions For Federal Anti-Poverty Programs

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) established a framework for benefits eligibility that distinguishes between “qualified” and “not qualified” immigrants, imposing various restrictions on both groups.

• “Qualified” immigrants include lawful permanent residents (LPRs, also known as green card holders), refugees, asylees, those granted a temporary form of status called withholding of removal, conditional entrants, Cuban and Haitian entrants, certain immigrant survivors of abuse, survivors of trafficking, and individuals residing in the U.S. under a Compact of Free Association (COFA).
• “Not qualified” immigrants include undocumented immigrants, nonimmigrant visa holders, and many others who are lawfully present, such as asylum applicants and those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

This group of qualified immigrants are generally those who have undergone an extensive and thorough process for vetting their entry to the U.S. or their eligibility for their status. Obtaining a green card is a long process with waiting lists in many categories, leading many immigrants to wait for years before obtaining one. Asylees and refugees have proven through a rigorous vetting process that their home countries are very unsafe to return to. COFA citizens hail from Pacific Island nations with military importance for the U.S. and were recently granted qualified status due to a new treaty. These are people who are likely going to spend their lives in the U.S. and a very conservative Congress in 1996 determined they should continue to be eligible for food and health assistance.

Under PRWORA, only “qualified immigrants” are eligible for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously known as food stamps), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Supplemental Security Income. However, many “qualified immigrants” are subject to a five-year waiting period before they can access these programs, including people with LPR status. States do have the option to cover a broader set of children and pregnant women under Medicaid and CHIP, and more than three quarters have opted to do so. Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for these federal public benefits. The only exception is that hospitals can receive Medicaid reimbursement for emergency services, as federal law requires that no one be turned away from the emergency room.

PRWORA does not apply to some smaller programs that provide help with health care, food and other basic needs. There are limited programs that serve broader social needs that do not require participants to verify their immigration status, such as primary care health clinics, nutrition services for mothers and babies, and school meals programs. These are generally lower-cost programs that serve children or promote broader public health outcomes.

Access to Tax Credits

In addition to federal programs that help people in need, Congress may consider restricting immigrants’ access to certain tax credits that also help immigrant families thrive. Immigrants pay billions of dollars in federal, state and local taxes each year. The tax system should not discriminate, allowing some taxpayers to receive tax benefits while denying them to others. Unfortunately, current law already does so, despite the tens of billions of federal, state, and local taxes paid by undocumented immigrants.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides tax credits to offset the costs of private health insurance premiums. Unlike Medicaid, those on ACA coverage must still generally pay some share of premiums, deductibles, or copayments. Lawfully present immigrants, a broader subset than the “qualified immigrant” standard under PRWORA generally consisting of those who are not undocumented, are able to purchase subsidized coverage through the health insurance marketplaces. Undocumented immigrants, however, are not eligible for these tax credits.

Similarly, children without social security numbers are ineligible for the Child Tax Credit, which provides a per-child reduction in tax liability for working families and has played a major role in poverty reduction. This exclusion expires at the end of 2025. Families without social security numbers have been ineligible under the Earned Income Tax Credit since the passage of PRWORA. Those with work authorization can receive both of these tax credits.

Additional Restrictions Would Target the Most Vulnerable and Be Deeply Unfair

Immigrants are already severely restricted from federal assistance programs. New restrictions, particularly those seeking to recoup enough costs for the types of spending and tax cuts being eyed by the current Congress, would target the most vulnerable and longtime taxpayers. For example, given most other groups are already restricted, restrictions to Medicaid would necessarily need to focus on people granted asylum or refugee status, a grueling process that affirms families’ dire needs. They could also target children, as well as survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence.

By extending the five-year bar on green card holders, Congress would make it even harder for immigrants with permanent lawful status in the United States to obtain the services and support they need to fully participate in and contribute to their communities. By denying ACA or Child Tax Credits to people with social security numbers, Congress would be setting a precedent where similarly situated tax filers are treated differently because of where they or their parents were born.

Adding further eligibility restrictions would harm not only immigrants, but also U.S. citizens who live in mixed status households, including one in four children living in the U.S. who have immigrant parents. It would lead to worse health outcomes, increased hunger, and higher costs for the health care system that will ultimately land on health systems and local governments. And it would add new complexity to the already complex process of applying for public benefits, likely leading to longer processing times and paperwork for all low-income Americans. Overall, new eligibility restrictions on immigrants would be both penny and pound foolish, while undermining our shared public health and safety goals.