Immigration, Health Benefits, and the Government Shutdown

As the government shutdown continues, Republicans accuse Democrats of wanting to grant health benefits to illegal immigrants, while Democrats and allied fact-checkers deny it. Which side is correct? The answer depends subjectively on who qualifies as an “illegal immigrant”, but the Republican definition matches how media outlets have used the term for many years (until this month). More importantly, illegal immigrants already access public health benefits through multiple pathways, most of which will be available to them as long as they remain in the country. 

CIS has published several articles about this debate (see the links below). Here are the key points:

• Some illegal immigrants have limited protection from deportation due to programs such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and parole.
• Prior to passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), illegal immigrants with limited protections could access federal health benefits under certain circumstances. The OBBB sunsets much of that access, but the Democratic budget would reinstate it.
• Fact-checkers have called the Republican claim that Democrats want to give illegal immigrants health benefits “false” because TPS-holders, DACA recipients, parolees, etc. aren’t really illegal immigrants in their view. Republicans insist they are illegal.
• Since there is no official definition of “illegal immigrant”, the debate is a matter of opinion and not amenable to a true-or-false fact check.
• The Republican party’s opinion is the more conventional one. The Department of Homeland Security, the Pew Research Center, the Migration Policy Institute, the Center for Migration Studies, and CIS itself all include TPS, DACA, parole, and similar statuses within the definition of illegal (also called “unauthorized” or “undocumented”).
• Fact-checking media outlets followed the lead of those expert organizations for years, but this month the outlets changed their definition of illegal immigrant to accommodate the Democratic position on the budget.
• Under current law, illegal immigrants can already access public health benefits directly through emergency care and state-level programs, and indirectly via their U.S.-born dependents. In fact, 39 percent of illegal-headed households receive Medicaid.
• While restrictions on access can help, the ultimate solution to the problem of illegal immigrants consuming welfare is simply to reduce the size of the illegal population.

Related:

The Hidden Cost to Dem Benefits for Migrants as Government Shutdown Continues

Of Course Illegal Immigrants Access Public Health Benefits

Widespread ‘Fact-Checker’ Failure on Public Health Benefits for Illegal Immigrants

The Media’s Narrative-Serving Redefinition of ‘Illegal Immigrant’