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Modifies Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 by striking and redesignating certain paragraphs in subsection (a); replacing subsection (b)(2) with a requirement that the Secretary affirmatively establish eligibility of each family member; altering the actions described in subsection (c)(1) to require deferral of termination and making related clause redesignations; revising language in subsection (i) to require eligibility determinations for each family member and adjusting clause structure; and adding a new subsection (j) prohibiting the applicable Secretary from issuing guidelines relating to eligibility for financial assistance under the section.
Adds a new subsection (j) to Section 502 of the Housing Act of 1949 establishing eligibility limits for loans under the section (restricting borrowers to U.S. citizens or occupants/residents of housing units that do not include persons in specified immigration statuses) and prohibiting the Secretary from issuing guidelines relating to such eligibility.
Edits the listed exceptions in section 401(b)(1)(D) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act to remove the prior phrase and replace it with text that ends the list after crisis counseling and intervention and expressly excludes housing programs, services, or assistance.
Makes an analogous edit in section 411(b)(4) by replacing the phrase that included crisis counseling, intervention, and short-term shelter with language that ends after crisis counseling and intervention and excludes housing programs, services, or assistance.
Adds a new subparagraph (E) to paragraph (3) of section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code defining 'disqualified individuals' and providing that a unit occupied by any such disqualified individual shall not be treated as a low-income unit for purposes of the low-income housing credit.
Adds a new paragraph (5) to section 1903(v) of the Social Security Act defining certain categories of aliens (parolees, deferred action/deferred enforced departure, asylum recipients, TPS recipients, and withholding of removal recipients) as not being 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' or 'permanently residing in the United States under color of law' for purposes of paragraph (1).
Adds new section 1899C to Title XVIII (Medicare) establishing that 'applicable individuals' (parolees, deferred action/deferred enforced departure recipients, asylum recipients, TPS recipients, and withholding of removal recipients) are not entitled to or enrolled for benefits under Title XVIII.
Amends section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code to (1) insert an exception reference and (2) add a new subparagraph (F) disqualifying certain aliens (asylum recipients, parolees, TPS recipients, deferred action/deferred enforced departure recipients, and withholding of removal recipients) from being treated as applicable taxpayers for the premium tax credit; includes conforming amendments to subsection (e).
Amends paragraph (3) of section 5000A(d) of the Internal Revenue Code (language/heading modifications and insertion as specified in the subsection).
Amends subsection (b) and subsection (e) of section 1402 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071) with insertions and conforming changes related to eligibility for cost‑sharing reductions and subsidies.
And 22 more affected sections...
Makes sweeping limits on who may receive many federal benefits, subsidies, grants, and tax credits by tying eligibility to U.S. citizenship or specific lawful-presence rules and by excluding people with many common noncitizen statuses. It also restricts how some federal grants and FEMA funds can be used, adds penalties for some organizations that use federal funds to help certain noncitizens, and lets the Department reallocate education funds away from jurisdictions labeled as “sanctuary.” The bill touches many programs: nutrition (WIC, school meals), Head Start, Medicaid/ACA subsidies and certain health center funding, housing and low-income housing tax credit rules, child and earned income tax credits, FEMA emergency sheltering, federal grant use limits and nonprofit tax rules, and higher education student aid. Agencies must issue rules to implement the changes; many tax-rule changes take effect for taxable years beginning after 2024-12-31.
Amend Section 501 of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 (8 U.S.C. 1522) by replacing a specified term with the wording "Cuban entrants" (text: "by striking each place such term appears and inserting 'Cuban entrants'").
In Section 501, subsection (d): strike the words "Cuban or Haitian entrants" and insert "Cuban entrants."
In Section 501, subsection (e): (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), strike "Cuban and Haitian entrant" and insert "Cuban entrant"; (B) in paragraph (1), strike "Cuban/Haitian Entrant" and insert "Cuban Entrant"; (C) strike each place that term appears (i.e., remove the prior multi-group wording and use the Cuban-only wording where specified).
Conforming amendment to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–193): strike each place a specified term appears and insert "Cuban entrant" (text as provided).
Conforming amendment to Section 1611(c)(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(c)(5)): strike "Cuban and Haitian entrants" and insert "Cuban entrants."
Who is affected and how:
Immigrant individuals and families: Many noncitizens and their U.S.-born or noncitizen children could lose access to key benefits and services. The bill disqualifies children from WIC, free/reduced-price school meals, and Head Start if the child is not a U.S. citizen (or INA §207 refugee) and a parent/guardian holds listed noncitizen statuses. It also excludes many noncitizen statuses from Medicaid/ACA premium tax credits, cost-sharing reductions, and certain federally assisted health center funding, which could reduce access to care and increase uncompensated care.
Children and low-income households: Children in affected families may face higher food insecurity, reduced early education access, and increased material hardship. Changes to the CTC and EITC reduce or complicate refundable tax credit access for families with mixed or noncitizen-status household members.
Nonprofit organizations and service providers: Organizations that use federal funds to serve specified noncitizen groups may face restrictions, and some nonprofits risk losing tax-exempt status if they use federal funds to provide money/services/goods to those groups. Compliance costs and legal risk increase.
State and local governments and school districts: Jurisdictions designated as "sanctuary" risk losing 50% of certain federal education grants and subgrants; agencies will shift funds to non‑sanctuary jurisdictions. States and localities must revise program rules and reporting and may face financial losses and legal challenges.
Federal agencies and program administrators: DHS, HHS, USDA, HUD, DOJ, IRS, FEMA, and education agencies will need to adopt new rules, update eligibility systems, perform new verification steps (citizenship/SSN/lawful presence), and handle appeals and litigation risks. Administrative burdens and costs for verification and rulemaking will rise.
Housing and community programs: Housing assistance and low-income housing tax credit units will be affected by tightened immigration-based eligibility, potentially increasing housing instability for immigrant families.
Likely consequences and risks:
Overall, the bill would rework eligibility across many domestic programs to pivot benefits and subsidies toward citizens and narrow lawful-presence categories, with sizeable operational, fiscal, and human impacts concentrated on immigrant families, service providers, and state/local governments.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced January 9, 2025 by Mike Lee · Last progress January 9, 2025
America First Act
Expand sections to see detailed analysis
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate