WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) sent a letter to Trump administration officials urging agencies to recoup millions in taxpayer benefits paid to sponsored immigrants.
Read more about the letter here.
Read the full letter here or see full text below.
Dear Secretary Noem, Secretary Kennedy, Secretary Rollins, Secretary Turner, Acting Commissioner Bessent, and Commissioner Bisignano:
I write to request that agencies seek reimbursement for welfare use by family-sponsored aliens. It is the policy of the United States that aliens should not depend on public resources. Despite this precept, most alien households receive means-tested benefits. Much of this use is contrary to law, but the government may also be owed repayment for a large portion of lawful use.
Mass migration has strained public resources. Illegal aliens cost American taxpayers an estimated $68 billion a year in public education, $42 billion in welfare, and $7 billion in medical treatment, eclipsing the amount this group pays in taxes. Those present in the country legally impose just as large a burden on taxpayers. The vast majority of immigrant welfare use comes from legal alien households, most of which use means-tested welfare of some kind: One in three legal immigrant households uses Medicaid, one in three uses SNAP or another food benefit program, and one in four uses cash benefits like TANF.
The immigration laws do not tolerate this rate of government dependence. Federal law stipulates that any alien who will become a public charge is inadmissible; an alien who becomes a public charge within five years of entry may be deported. Certain legal aliens may use a limited range of benefits. But aliens should not “depend on public resources to meet their needs” and should be self-sufficient.
One way federal law ensures self-sufficiency is by mandating repayment for benefits received by certain non-citizens. Aliens who enter the country as a family member of a citizen or permanent resident must generally be sponsored by a relative who financially supports the alien. Refugees and asylees who adjust to permanent residence via a family member must also have a sponsor. Sponsoring relatives agree to reimburse the federal government for any means-tested benefit used by the alien before that alien becomes a citizen. This pledge is executed in a contract. Pursuant to that contract, agencies that administer means-tested programs may seek repayment for benefits received while the alien was a non-citizen.
American taxpayers may well be owed a large amount of money. The family visa program remains the single largest source of legal immigration to the United States, and over 3.5 million immigrants have entered through the program since 2016. No records can be found of federal agencies requesting reimbursement, but the contracts may be enforced in court for ten years after any benefits received.
As the federal government continues to promote responsibility in government spending and to limit the entry of aliens who may become public charges, I respectfully request an answer to the following questions by March 1, 2026:
- Since 2016, how many contracts have been executed pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1183a?
- Since 2016, what is the total amount of means-tested benefits used by non-citizens sponsored by a person who executed such a contract?
- Since 2016, what is the total amount of reimbursement sought by federal agencies for non-citizen welfare use?
- What plans do federal agencies have to enforce 1183a contracts executed since 2016?
- What steps do DHS and other agencies intend to take to ensure that aliens do not become dependent on government support after entering the country?
Thank you for your attention to this important matter, and for all you are doing to make America great again.
