Early Thursday morning, the House narrowly passed a regressive federal budget that attacks immigrant families in ways that could devastate whole communities. Ostensibly a tax and spend package, the bill actually contains a number of policy changes aimed at immigrant families and the jurisdictions that seek to treat them with compassion and humanity while funneling billions more into an civil enforcement system that is spiraling out of control.
Advocates have been anticipating large increases in enforcement to align with Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, but the scope of the funding is still shocking. The bill provides $69 billion additional border militarization, including $51 billion for border wall construction and an additional $8.3 billion for more CBP agents and vehicles. $45 billion are included for the construction of new immigrant detention centers, including facilities for family detention. Another $27 billion is allocated for additional ICE agents and other enforcement and removal costs. At the same time, the package prohibits spending any federal funds to support Legal Orientation programs for those in ICE detention or to provide legal services to unaccompanied minors.
While increasing the threat of civil enforcement against immigrant communities, the package would also erect new financial barriers to those with legitimate claims to relief in court. Asylum applicants, who currently face no fee for their application, would now need to pay $1,000 just to submit the application and another $100 for every year the application is pending. Asylum applicants, Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries, and parolees would be granted work authorization for only 6 month periods, meaning they would have to pay an additional $1,100 every year in order to support themselves. Those wishing to sponsor an unaccompanied minor would see the fee go from $0 to $3,500. Those seeking justice in court would also face new fees, with a $100 fee for any continuances that a court might grant and a $900 fee for appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). Anyone either removed in absentia or apprehended between ports of entry would face a $5,000 fee.
While these changes are horrific enough, the package also looks to extend its cruelty to those with lawful presence in the US. Families would only be eligible for the Child Tax Credit if their parents are filing with a social security number, a move that could exclude an estimated 4.5 million children. Access to the ACA marketplace, Medicaid, and SNAP, previously available to those who are lawfully present, would be limited to only green card holders, certain Cubans, and people residing under a Compact of Free Associations. At the same time, the bill would punish states that try to make up for federal benefit gaps by cutting 10% of federal ACA funding if the state offers health insurance regardless of status.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where the GOP holds a 53-47 majority. Majority Leader John Thune hopes to get the bill passed before the 4th of July holiday, but this could prove difficult as a handful of Republican Senators have expressed opposition to increases in national debt and the debt ceiling contained in the House package.
Federal Policy Updates
- On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump Administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status for some Venezuelans. A federal judge in San Francisco had previously issued a preliminary injunction against the administration, preventing them from terminating TPS for Venezuela in a decision that was upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In a very brief order, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to go forward with terminating TPS. This case only impacts Venezuelans who were granted TPS status under the 2023 designation (expiration date 4/2/25) and not those who were granted TPS under the 2021 designation (expiration date 9/10/25). The Court’s order also does not preclude lawsuits against the administration’s attempt to invalidate documents such as EADs.
- Rep. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma introduced a bill to increase penalties for unauthorized entry into the United States. If enacted, the penalty for an unauthorized entry would increase from 2 years to 5 years in prison. Penalties for unauthorized re-entry would increase from 2 years to 10 years. These sentences would be dramatically expanded if combined with a felony offense. Any convicted of an unauthorized entry with a subsequent criminal offense could receive a sentence anywhere from 5 years to life. Similarly, an unauthorized re-entry with a prior conviction for a felony or aggravated felony would subject anyone to a penalty of 10 years to life in prison.