Immigration

Federal benefits and services for noncitizens

22 public statements from 2026 candidates · 5 related bills

§1The range of views

Why this matters: These rules decide what help immigrants, including refugees and green card holders, can get with food, health care and housing, and they affect what these programs cost.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

Which noncitizens can get federal benefits such as food assistance and health coverage, which a 2025 law narrowed for some groups, and other federal help such as small business loans.1

  1. Let some immigrants without legal status qualify too, such as children or longtime residents
  2. Let refugees, people granted asylum and other lawfully present immigrants qualify along with citizens and green card holders
  3. Keep the 2025 limits, under which mainly citizens and green card holders qualify
  4. Limit benefits and services mainly to US citizens

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Let some immigrants without legal status qualify too, such as children or longtime residents (1)

  • Delia Ramirez IL-3
    Her campaign website says she co-sponsored the LIFT the BAR Act to remove barriers to programs including free school meals, Social Security and Medicaid for undocumented immigrants and permanent residents.2

Limit benefits and services mainly to US citizens (2)

  • Steve G. Parsons AR-1
    His campaign website says federal welfare and safety-net programs should be limited to citizens.3,4
  • Aaron Flint MT-1
    His campaign website says he wants noncitizens taken off all taxpayer-funded welfare programs.5

Statements that don't match one option (19)

  • Bobby Wilson AR-3
    His campaign website calls for ending federal subsidies that it says pay people to come to the U.S.6
  • Angélica María Dueñas CA-29
    Her campaign website says undocumented immigrants should get health care through Medicare for All and, in the near term, supports expanding Medicaid to cover them.7
  • Angela Gonzales-Torres CA-34
    Her campaign website calls for ending policies that exclude immigrants from federally funded programs and for full access to essential services for mixed-status households.8
  • James "Jim" Kingston GA-1
    His campaign website says he supports no Medicaid benefits for immigrants who are in the country illegally.9
  • Matt Day GA-2
    His campaign website says its American Elder Bill would cover only senior citizens who are U.S. citizens, not permanent residents, and lists bringing in more immigrants who pay taxes but do not receive elder care benefits among ways to pay for Social Security and Medicare.10
  • Niki Conforti IL-6
    Her campaign website says constituents should not be paying for the free housing, health care, phones and meals it says people in the country illegally receive.11
  • Don Tracy IL Senate
    His campaign website says he opposes taxpayer-funded benefits for people in the country illegally, and it also criticizes taxpayer-funded benefits for noncitizens.12
  • Julia Letlow LA Senate
    Her campaign website says she would end taxpayer-funded benefits for immigrants in the country illegally.13
  • Michael Echols LA-5
    His campaign website says illegal immigrants must be barred entirely from receiving taxpayer-funded benefits and that legal immigrants who take welfare should lose the opportunity to become U.S. citizens in the future.14
  • Michelle Fischbach MN-7
    Her page on the No Bailouts for Sanctuary Cities Act backs the bill, which it says would stop federal money from paying for shelter, food, transportation, health care or legal help for immigrants without legal status in sanctuary jurisdictions.15
  • David Rouzer NC-7
    His campaign website's issues page says no one who came to the country illegally should be allowed to receive taxpayer-funded benefits.16
  • Brinker Harding NE-2
    His campaign website says he would protect programs such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare for single mothers, veterans, older adults and people with disabilities, and not for people in the country illegally or able-bodied adults.17
  • Edmond Laplante NH Senate
    His campaign website says people in the country illegally should not receive state or federal benefits meant for citizens and lawful residents.18
  • Damon Galdo NJ-1
    His campaign website says taxpayer-funded benefits should go only to people with a legal entitlement to them and that taxpayer dollars should serve American citizens first.19
  • Teresa Leger Fernandez NM-3
    Her campaign website’s COVID-19 page, written while she was working to pass the Biden Rescue and Recovery plan, says COVID relief should reach all Americans, including immigrants, whom it calls essential workers.20
  • Deb Haaland NM Governor
    Her healthcare plan says she would use the state's Health Care Affordability Fund to help lawfully present immigrant families who are losing health coverage because of federal eligibility changes.21
  • Darline Graham SC Senate
    Her campaign website says she opposes taxpayer-funded benefits for people in the country illegally.22
  • Alan Wilson SC Governor
    His campaign website says he would deny state benefits to people living in the state illegally.23
  • Rebecca Bextel WY Governor
    Her campaign website says state resources and taxpayer-funded benefits should be reserved for American citizens and people who are legally present in the country.24,25

§3Related bills

Why this matters: Bills from 2023–2026 that bear on this issue, with how Congress handled them.