The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has implemented a “significant” policy shift that ensures taxpayer-funded programs are only utilized by U.S. citizens.
The department recinded a Clinton-era interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), which “improperly extended certain federal public benefits to illegal aliens,” HHS explained. The policy “improperly narrowed the scope of PRWORA, undercutting the law by allowing illegal aliens to access programs Congress intended only for the American people.”
By updating the policy, HHS is honoring the law by ensuring that federal benefits are administered to citizens.
“For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement. “Today’s action changes that—it restores integrity to federal social programs, enforces the rule of law, and protects vital resources for the American people.”
The policy shift is in line with President Donald Trump’s executive order on “ending taxpayer subsidization of open borders.” According to the order, “numerous administrations have acted to undermine the principles and limitations directed by the Congress through [PRWORA]. 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’s order directed agency heads to “identify all federally funded programs administered by the agency that currently permit illegal aliens to obtain any cash or non-cash public benefit, and, consistent with applicable law, take all appropriate actions to align such programs with the purposes of this order and the requirements of applicable Federal law, including the PRWORA.”
Programs that now reflect the policy shift include Head Start, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness Grant Program, and others.
