Immigrant health and welfare – CONGRESS MACHINE

HR 1195: Protect Medicaid Act

Protect Medicaid Act

This bill prohibits federal payment under Medicaid for the administrative costs of providing health benefits to noncitizens who are ineligible for Medicaid based on their immigration status. The Department of Health and Human Services must report on specified information regarding states that provide health benefits to such individuals.

Sponsors

Richard Hudson (R) NC

Cosponsors

Dan Crenshaw (R) TX

Introduced on
Tuesday, February 11th, 2025

Subjects
Health programs administration and funding, Immigrant health and welfare, Immigration status and procedures, Intergovernmental relations, Medicaid, State and local finance

S 523: Protect Medicaid Act

Protect Medicaid Act

This bill prohibits federal payment under Medicaid for the administrative costs of providing health benefits to noncitizens who are ineligible for Medicaid based on their immigration status. The Department of Health and Human Services must report on specified information regarding states that provide health benefits to such individuals.

Sponsors

Bill Cassidy (R) LA

Cosponsors

John Barrasso (R) WY, Roger Wicker (R) MS, Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) MS

Introduced on
Tuesday, February 11th, 2025

Subjects
Health programs administration and funding, Immigrant health and welfare, Immigration status and procedures, Intergovernmental relations, Medicaid, State and local finance

HR 584: No Medicaid for Illegal Immigrants Act of 2025

No Medicaid for Illegal Immigrants Act of 2025

This bill prohibits state Medicaid programs from covering individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States, except for certain emergency services for which federal payment is authorized under current law.

Sponsors

Kevin Kiley (R) CA

Cosponsors

Derrick Van Orden (R) WI

Introduced on
Tuesday, January 21st, 2025

Subjects
Border security and unlawful immigration, Immigrant health and welfare, Medicaid

HR 61: Ensuring United Families at the Border Act

Ensuring United Families at the Border Act

This bill addresses the treatment of children who are non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law), including by statutorily establishing that there is no presumption that such a child (other than an unaccompanied child) should not be detained for immigration purposes.

Specifically, the bill states that the detention of such minors shall be governed by specified sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act and not any other provision of law, judicial ruling, or settlement agreement.

(A 1997 settlement agreement, commonly known as the Flores agreement, imposes requirements relating to the treatment of detained alien minors, including requiring such minors to be released or placed in a nonsecure facility after a certain amount of time in detention.)

If an adult enters the United States unlawfully with their child, the Department of Homeland Security must detain the adult and child together if the only criminal charge against the adult is a misdemeanor for unlawful entry.

This bill also prohibits states from imposing licensing requirements on immigration detention facilities used to detain minors or families with minors.

Sponsors

Andy Biggs (R) AZ

Cosponsors

Eric Burlison (R) MO, Elijah Crane (R) AZ, Troy Nehls (R) TX

Introduced on
Friday, January 3rd, 2025

Subjects
Border security and unlawful immigration, Child safety and welfare, Detention of persons, Family relationships, Immigrant health and welfare, Immigration status and procedures, Licensing and registrations, State and local government operations

HR 116: Stopping Border Surges Act

Stopping Border Surges Act

This bill modifies immigration law provisions relating to unaccompanied alien minors and to asylum seekers.

The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to repatriate certain unaccompanied, inadmissible alien children, generally those not at risk of being trafficking victims nor having a fear of persecution. Currently, only inadmissible unaccompanied aliens from neighboring countries are subject to repatriation, and DHS has discretion whether to repatriate.

When the Department of Health and Human Services releases an unaccompanied child to an individual, it shall provide DHS with certain information about that individual, including Social Security number and immigration status.

The bill requires a stricter standard to find a credible fear of persecution and imposes additional rules on credible fear interviews.

If an alien is granted asylum because of fear of persecution in a country, the alien shall be deemed to have renounced asylum status by returning to that country, if there has been no change in the country’s conditions.

The bill also (1) expands the definition of what constitutes a frivolous asylum application, (2) imposes additional limitations on eligibility for asylum, (3) shortens the deadline for applying for asylum, and (4) extends the time period an alien seeking asylum must wait before receiving employment authorization.

Any individual who knowingly and willfully makes materially false statements or uses fraudulent documents in asylum-related proceedings shall be fined or imprisoned up to 10 years, or both.

Sponsors

Andy Biggs (R) AZ

Cosponsors

Brandon Gill (R) TX

Introduced on
Friday, January 3rd, 2025

Subjects
Administrative remedies, Border security and unlawful immigration, Child safety and welfare, Correctional facilities and imprisonment, Department of Homeland Security, Detention of persons, Evidence and witnesses, Family relationships, Federal preemption, Foreign labor, Foreign language and bilingual programs, Fraud offenses and financial crimes, Government information and archives, Government studies and investigations, Human rights, Human trafficking, Immigrant health and welfare, Immigration status and procedures, International law and treaties