President Donald Trump Wednesday signed an executive order to end taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal migrants, the latest directive by the administration to discourage illegal immigration into the United States.
The executive order directs federal departments and agencies to identify all taxpayer-funded programs that provide benefits to individuals living in the country unlawfully and take corrective action, according to the White House. The order further directs agencies to ensure that funds are not used to encourage illegal immigration, such as ending any funding that is used to support sanctuary policies at the state or local level.
The order specifically cites the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, a law that largely bars illegal migrants from obtaining most taxpayer-funded benefits from the government. The White House argued that, in the decades since PRWORA was passed, various administrations have “acted to undermine” the principles of the law.
“Over the last 4 years, in particular, the prior administration repeatedly undercut the goals of that law, resulting in the improper expenditure of significant taxpayer resources,” Trump stated in the text of order.
Taxpayer funding of immigration services have already substantially decreased under the Trump administration, such as when Trump’s action to end foreign assistance completely shut down the Safe Mobility Initiative, a Biden-era program that used American funds to help migrants across Latin America apply for asylum without even needing to show up to a port of entry.
Organizations that have enjoyed federal funding to promote immigration, such as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have already sued the president for cutting funding to their projects.
“My Administration will uphold the rule of law, defend against the waste of hard-earned taxpayer resources, and protect benefits for American citizens in need, including individuals with disabilities and veterans,” the president continued.
The White House cited numerous studies that indicate the sheer extent illegal immigration is costing the American taxpayer, such as Federation for American Immigration Reform research that found U.S. taxpayers spend at least $182 billion a year covering the costs of 20 million illegal migrants and their children, an estimation by the Congressional Budget Office finding that Medicaid-funded emergency services to illegal migrants cost more than $16.2 billion and a House Homeland Security Committee study finding taxpayers spent as much as $451 billion caring for illegal migrants and getaways since January 2021.
“With this Executive Order, President Trump is ensuring taxpayer resources are used to protect the interests of American citizens, not illegal aliens,” the White House stated.
Trump’s Wednesday executive order marked the latest in a flurry of directives that seek to end the border crisis that sparked under the Biden administration and remove the masses of illegal migrants already in the country.
Since entering office, the president has declared an emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, deployed armed forces to help Border Patrol and other federal immigration officers at the border, restarted border wall construction, opened Guantanamo Bay for the detention of illegal migrants involved in serious crimes and mobilized federal agencies to help with an ambitious detention and deportation agenda.
Trump also signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship for individuals born on U.S. soil to illegal migrants parents, but that order has since been bogged down by court challenges.
The result so far has been a substantial drop in migrant encounters along the southern border and Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehension rates that are far outpacing the Biden-era arrests.
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