Moving again to discourage penniless Third World “migrants” from thinking they can jump the Southwest border or otherwise enter the nation illegally, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that stops illegal aliens from receiving taxpayer subsidies.
Importantly, the order keeps money going to sanctuary states and cities from being used to block the arrest and deportation of illegals, a second attack on sanctuaries. Last week, the administration sued sanctuaries pursuant to the federal Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
The signing came a week after the report from Open the Books (OTB) that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) threw away $22 billion on illegals. No more will illegals get cash from the federal government to buy cars and homes, or waste.
Spending on Illegals
“Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders,” observes that illegals are not entitled to taxpayer subsidies, apropos of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).
That law says that “aliens within the Nation’s borders [must] not depend on public resources to meet their needs.” “It is a compelling government interest to remove the incentive for illegal immigration provided by the availability of public benefits,” it adds.
But aliens have been draining billions from the treasury ever since, the order says:
[I]n the decades since the passage of the PRWORA, numerous administrations have acted to undermine the principles and limitations directed by the Congress through that law. 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.
One of those expenditures included flying “migrants” directly into the country.
And as The New American reported last week, citing Open the Books, illegals have collected $22.6 billion from taxpayers via the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a subsidiary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
ORR spent the money “on grants to nonprofits providing everything from help accessing Medicaid to help building credit, help with home and auto loans, and cash assistance,” OTB reported.
One program “gave out business and personal loans to help them build credit,” the website reported. Another “helped with ‘legal assistance,’ ‘cultural orientation,’ and ‘emergency housing support.’” The programs “acted as giant magnets for those seeking to cross the border and claim asylum,” OTB reported.
That money was spent, again, in contravention of the 1996 law that forbade it.
The Order
Thus, Trump’s order.
It requires agency heads to identify any programs that subsidize illegals in contravention of that law, and to
prevent taxpayer resources from acting as a magnet and fueling illegal immigration to the United States, and to ensure, to the maximum extent permitted by law, that no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.
The order also blocks money from going to states and localities that would, “by design or effect, facilitate the subsidization or promotion of illegal immigration, or abet so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation.”
Vice President J.D. Vance explained the administration policies on illegals at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC):
The fundamental goal of our immigration policy, of our border policy, of DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] saving taxpayer money — the fundamental goal is, we want your children and grandchildren to be able to raise a family in security and comfort in the country that we all love.
And, he said, the United States and Europe — Western civilization — cannot rebuild “by letting millions and millions of unvetted illegal migrants come into our country. It has to stop.”
“It’s simple: American tax dollars should go to American citizens, not to illegal aliens,” Vance wrote on X over video of the CPAC appearance:
The Trump Administration is getting control of the border and stopping this insanity in its tracks.
Sanctuaries Sued
Trump’s order fortifies the administration’s lawsuit to overturn sanctuary laws that trespass the Supremacy Clause of the federal Constitution. That clause says:
This Constitution, and the laws … made in pursuance thereof … shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
The administration has sued New York City and state, and Illinois, Chicago, and Cook County for laws that block the sharing of information about illegals with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Their laws also supposedly prohibit those states and localities from honoring ICE detainers on illegal-alien rapists, murderers, and other thugs. Detainers are a legal request from the federal government to provide information about the pending release of a criminal. Sanctuaries routinely release dangerous illegal-alien criminals before ICE can arrest them for deportation.
Speaking at a news conference about the lawsuit filed against New York, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the state “has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens”:
It stops. It stops today. As you know, we sued Illinois and New York didn’t listen. So now you’re next. Millions of illegal aliens with violent records have flooded into our communities, bringing violence and deadly drugs with them.
“And if you are a state not complying with federal law, you’re next,” Bondi added. “Get ready.”
8 U.S. Code 1373 forbids the states from refusing to share information about illegals with the federal government:
Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, a Federal, State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.
