On Thursday, former President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at ceasing the use of taxpayer funds for supporting immigrants without legal status. The directive intends to eliminate “all taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens,” though it does not specify which benefits are targeted. It instructs federal agencies to identify programs using federal funds for this purpose.
Typically, immigrants without legal status are not eligible for federal benefits, although exceptions exist for emergency situations. Following a 1982 landmark Supreme Court decision, all children, regardless of immigration status, are entitled to free K-12 education. Immigrants granted parole into the U.S. are eligible for certain short-term benefits, such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Under the Biden administration, over one million individuals were paroled into the country under temporary programs.
A fact sheet released by the White House cited data from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an organization advocating for reduced immigration levels, which claims that American taxpayers spend approximately $182 billion annually covering costs related to the presence of 20 million illegal aliens and their children.
Research from other organizations offers a broader perspective. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a liberal tax research group, found that individuals without legal status contribute billions in taxes to the U.S. Social Security system. Meanwhile, the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, argues that noncitizen immigrants actually consume 54% less welfare than native-born Americans, countering the myth that immigrants use welfare disproportionately.
The executive order also aims to prevent state and local governments from using federal funds to support sanctuary policies, which restrict local law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration officers. Trump’s previous attempts to enforce this during his administration were dismissed by the Supreme Court. The White House has not provided additional details regarding the specifics of this order upon request.
