To limit eligibility for Federal benefits for certain immigrants, and for other purposes.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill exempts removes asylees, certain parolees, and other non-citizens from the definition of "qualified alien" eligible for federal means-tested public benefits under the 1996 welfare reform law, requires makes children ineligible for Head Start programs if they are not US citizens/refugees AND their parent is an asylee, TPS holder, DACA recipient, parolee, or has withholding of removal status, and creates bars asylees, TPS holders, DACA recipients, parolees, and those with withholding of removal from Medicaid, Medicare, and ACA premium tax credits by excluding them from "lawfully present" status. It relies on exemptions, definition changes, compliance mandates, and appropriations. The main policy areas are Immigration, Civil Rights, Education, and Finance.
Who Benefits and How
School districts in non-sanctuary jurisdictions could gain revenue opportunities, US citizen families meeting income thresholds could see lower costs, and Federal healthcare spending (CMS) could see lower costs.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Undocumented immigrants and excluded categories (emergency services) could lose revenue opportunities, TPS holders (healthcare) could lose revenue opportunities, and School districts in sanctuary jurisdictions could lose revenue opportunities.
Key Provisions
- Exempts removes asylees, certain parolees, and other non-citizens from the definition of "qualified alien" eligible for federal means-tested public benefits under the 1996 welfare reform law.
- Requires makes children ineligible for Head Start programs if they are not US citizens/refugees AND their parent is an asylee, TPS holder, DACA recipient, parolee, or has withholding of removal status.
- Creates bars asylees, TPS holders, DACA recipients, parolees, and those with withholding of removal from Medicaid, Medicare, and ACA premium tax credits by excluding them from "lawfully present" status.
- Exempts explicitly bars parolees, DACA recipients, asylees, TPS holders, and those with withholding of removal from Medicare enrollment and benefits.
- Requires removes asylees from eligibility for federal housing assistance, requires verification of eligibility for all family members, and bars housing loans to households with excluded immigrant categories.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill exempts removes asylees, certain parolees, and other non-citizens from the definition of "qualified alien" eligible for federal means-tested public benefits under the 1996 welfare reform law, requires makes children ineligible for Head Start programs if they are not US citizens/refugees AND their parent is an asylee, TPS holder, DACA recipient, parolee, or has withholding of removal status, and creates bars asylees, TPS holders, DACA recipients, parolees, and those with withholding of removal from Medicaid, Medicare, and ACA premium tax credits by excluding them from "lawfully present" status.
Key Policy Areas
Immigration, Civil Rights, Education, Finance
Primary Purpose
The bill exempts removes asylees, certain parolees, and other non-citizens from the definition of "qualified alien" eligible for federal means-tested public benefits under the 1996 welfare reform law, requires makes children ineligible for Head Start programs if they are not US citizens/refugees AND their parent is an asylee, TPS holder, DACA recipient, parolee, or has withholding of removal status, and creates bars asylees, TPS holders, DACA recipients, parolees, and those with withholding of removal from Medicaid, Medicare, and ACA premium tax credits by excluding them from "lawfully present" status.
Policy Domains
America First Act
Identified Gains
- School districts in non-sanctuary jurisdictions
- US citizen families meeting income thresholds
- Federal healthcare spending (CMS)
- Federal government (benefits expenditures)
- FEMA budget
Identified Costs
- Undocumented immigrants and excluded categories (emergency services)
- TPS holders (healthcare)
- School districts in sanctuary jurisdictions
- Sanctuary jurisdiction school systems
- Parolees (immigrants with parole status)
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Arrington (for himself and Mr. Roy) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
FEMA budget, Federal Head Start funding, Federal agencies implementing the Act
Positive-direction: FEMA budget, Federal Head Start funding, Federal child nutrition funding, Federal government (benefits expenditures), Federal healthcare spending, Federal refugee assistance budget, HUD housing assistance programs, IRS (tax administration), Immigration enforcement agencies, Medicare Trust Fund
Negative-direction: Federal agencies implementing the Act, IRS (nonprofit enforcement)
Asylees (immigrants granted asylum), Asylees seeking healthcare, Asylees seeking housing assistance
Head Start program administrators, Sanctuary jurisdiction school systems, School districts in non-sanctuary jurisdictions
Positive-direction: School districts in non-sanctuary jurisdictions
Negative-direction: Head Start program administrators, Sanctuary jurisdiction school systems, School districts in sanctuary jurisdictions, School nutrition programs, Students in sanctuary jurisdiction schools
Children of asylees, DACA recipients, TPS holders, parolees, Children of excluded immigrant categories (nutrition programs), Immigrant families claiming child tax credits
Local governments managing migrant arrivals, State and local governments (sanctuary policy), States with sanctuary policies
Non-profit shelter providers receiving FEMA funds, Nonprofit immigrant service organizations, Refugee resettlement organizations serving Haitians
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Varies by section: Secretary of Education (Sec 9), Secretary of HHS (Sec 4, 11, 12), Secretary of HUD (Sec 5, 13)
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of FEMA (Sec 7)
Note: 'The Secretary' refers to different cabinet officials depending on section context - Education (Sec 9), HHS (Sec 4, 11, 12), HUD (Sec 5, 13), Agriculture (Sec 12 for WIC/school meals)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Removes asylees from definition of qualified alien eligible for federal means-tested public benefits
A State or political subdivision with laws, ordinances, regulations, directives, policies, or practices that obstruct Federal and local law enforcement from enforcing Federal immigration law, including prohibiting information sharing about immigration status or denying DHS detainer requests
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology