Partisan Budget Bill Targets Lawfully-Present Immigrants, U.S. Citizens in Immigrant Families

EL PASO, TEXAS — The United States House of Representatives narrowly passed a budget package Wednesday that makes deep cuts to health and social services, especially for U.S. citizens and people in immigrant families. The bill passed in the Senate Tuesday, so today’s vote clears it for signature by the President. 

While the Trump White House and congressional Republicans often talk about the package as a in response to “illegal” immigration, people who are undocumented are already excluded from federally funded safety net programs under current law. The bill’s cuts to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps), the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and the Child Tax Credit, actually target U.S. citizens – overwhelmingly children – in immigrant families, and lawfully present immigrants. Lawfully present immigrants whose status is based on being a domestic violence survivor, a refugee, a human trafficking survivor or who hold other “humanitarian” statuses are specifically targeted.

The legislation also provides hundreds of billions in additional funding for immigration enforcement. This includes funding to further militarize enforcement and build detention centers for children and families. The vote comes in the wake of revelations that the Trump administration has wrongly deported U.S. citizens and lawfully-present immigrants, and has violated court orders.

In response to the vote, the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition (PIF) released the following statement from its director, Adriana Cadena.

“Republicans voted to take health care, food, and money from their own constituents to fund tax cuts for billionaires and terrorize families across the country with ICE agents. The Trump administration is a runaway train. Congress must pump the breaks, not step on the gas. Our communities will not forget this betrayal."