The Trump administration is expanding efforts to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining public health benefits with a new initiative launched on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (Getty/iStock)
"We are tightening oversight of enrollment to safeguard taxpayer dollars and guarantee that these vital programs serve only those who are truly eligible under the law," Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday.
"Every dollar misspent is a dollar taken away from an eligible, vulnerable individual in need of Medicaid and CHIP," added CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. "This action underscores our unwavering commitment to program integrity, safeguarding taxpayer dollars, and ensuring benefits are strictly reserved for those eligible under the law."
Since President Donald Trump began his second term, the GOP president has taken several steps to ensure non-citizens are not accessing public benefits that are supposed to be reserved for American citizens.
Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec. 7, 2023, in Lukeville, Arizona. A Department of Homeland Security Threat Assessment warned of migrants with ties to terrorism exploiting the border crisis. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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A coalition of more than 20 Democratic attorneys general, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, are suing the Trump administration over its new policies that require verification of immigrant status for participation in federally-funded programs.
"For decades, states like New York have built health, education, and family support systems that serve anyone in need," James said last month. "These programs work because they are open, accessible, and grounded in compassion. Now, the federal government is pulling that foundation out from under us overnight, jeopardizing cancer screenings, early childhood education, primary care, and so much more. This is a baseless attack on some of our country’s most effective and inclusive public programs, and we will not let it stand."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/exclusive-medicaid-directs-states-crack-down-illegal-immigrant-enrollees-monthly-checks