H.R. 746 — America First Act

This section designates the Act as the “America First Act” and sets forth its table of contents.

This section eliminates three exceptions under 8 U.S.C. 1611(b)(1) to the prohibition on non-qualified aliens' eligibility for any federal public benefit—short-term, non-cash, in-kind emergency disaster relief; programs, services, or assistance specified by the Attorney General (e.g., soup kitchens, crisis counseling and intervention, short-term shelter) that are necessary for life or safety and not conditioned on income or resources; and programs for housing or community development assistance or financial assistance administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, any program under title V of the Housing Act of 1949, or assistance under section 1926c of title 7, to the extent the alien was receiving such a benefit on August 22, 1996—thus limiting exceptions to emergency Medicaid and public health assistance (not including Medicaid) for immunizations and testing and treatment of communicable disease symptoms. This section narrows the definition of qualified alien under 8 U.S.C. 1641(b) by striking asylees, aliens paroled into the United States for one year or longer, and aliens deemed refugees by the Attorney General (thus making such aliens ineligible for federal public benefits except as provided above). (As background, qualified aliens are generally eligible for federal means-tested public benefits after a five-year period, with refugees and asylees previously exempt from that bar.) This section excludes aliens paroled for less than one year from eligibility for state or local public benefits under 8 U.S.C. 1621(a) (previously excepted). This section makes conforming amendments to eliminate asylee references in (1) the five-year limited eligibility for means-tested benefits for qualified aliens (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)(A)), (2) SSI and SSDI eligibility rules (8 U.S.C. 1613(b)(1)), and (3) state authority to provide benefits to certain aliens (8 U.S.C. 1622).

This section establishes that a child is ineligible for Head Start programs if the child is neither a U.S. citizen nor a refugee admitted under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) and a parent (including a guardian) is an alien who is unlawfully present, paroled under specified INA provisions, granted temporary protected status, asylum, deferred action or deferred enforced departure (including DACA), or withholding of removal. (Thus, such children—who otherwise meet Head Start's income and other criteria—are barred from enrollment.) It also makes a conforming amendment to Head Start funding allocation priorities by striking "immigrant, refugee" and inserting "refugee" in Section 640(a)(5)(B)(i).

This section excludes from eligibility for federal health care programs any alien granted (1) parole under INA §§212(d)(5) or 236(a)(2)(B); (2) deferred action or deferred enforced departure, including DACA; (3) asylum under INA §208; (4) TPS under INA §244; or (5) withholding of removal under INA §241(b)(3). Specifically, the section (1) amends SSA §1903(v) to deem such aliens ineligible for Medicaid as not lawfully admitted for permanent residence or residing under color of law; (2) adds SSA §1899C to prohibit Medicare entitlement or enrollment for such aliens notwithstanding existing eligibility provisions; (3) amends IRC §36B to deny premium tax credits and individual mandate exemptions to such aliens for taxable years after enactment; and (4) amends ACA §§1402, 1411, 1412, and 1331 to deny cost-sharing reductions, advance payments, verification eligibility, and state basic health program participation to such aliens.

This section limits eligibility under Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 for financial assistance under specified HUD housing programs—including public and assisted housing under the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, FHA mortgage insurance under sections 1715z and 1715z-1 of title 12, certain rural housing programs under sections 1472, 1474, 1490a(a)(2)(A), and 1490r of title 42, HOME Investment Partnerships under subtitle A of title III of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, and section 101 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965—to U.S. residents who are either citizens or five categories of lawfully present aliens: (1) lawful permanent residents, (2) certain continuous residents since before June 30, 1948, (3) refugees lawfully admitted under INA §207, (4) aliens legalized under INA §245A, or (5) certain residents under the Compacts of Free Association with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau (with U.S. citizens prioritized in Guam). (Previously, seven categories that also included asylees under INA §208, aliens paroled for emergent/public interest reasons under INA §212(d)(5), and aliens granted withholding of removal under INA §241(b)(3).) The section further (1) requires affirmative verification of immigration status for each family member receiving assistance (previously, at least the individual or one family member); (2) modifies mixed-family deferral procedures by removing asylum references and requiring deferral of termination pending verification; (3) prohibits the applicable Secretary from issuing eligibility guidelines; (4) for the Section 502 single-family rural housing guaranteed loan program (42 U.S.C. 1472), restricts loans to U.S. citizens or housing units without disqualified aliens (i.e., unlawfully present aliens, asylees, certain parolees under INA §§212(d)(5) or 236(a)(2)(B), TPS holders under INA §244, recipients of deferred action/deferred enforced departure including DACA, or withholding grantees under INA §241(b)(3)) and prohibits eligibility guidelines; (5) eliminates the Attorney General's discretion under PRWORA (8 U.S.C. 1611 et seq.) to exempt housing programs from alien eligibility restrictions; and (6) for the low-income housing tax credit (IRC §42), disqualifies units occupied by the same list of aliens, effective for determinations after enactment. (Thus, these changes exclude from federal housing benefits certain protected aliens previously eligible or potentially eligible under prior law.)

This section amends the child tax credit (CTC) under IRC §24 by (1) increasing the maximum credit amount per qualifying child to $2,000 (from $1,000); (2) revising the income phaseout thresholds to $400,000 for joint filers and $200,000 for other filers; (3) in the refundable CTC provisions, decreasing the earned income amount in §24(d)(1)(B)(i) to $2,500 (from $3,000) and capping the maximum refundable amount per qualifying child at $1,700 (inflation-adjusted after 2026); (4) requiring taxpayers to include Social Security numbers (SSNs) issued by the Social Security Administration to U.S. citizens or certain lawfully present aliens prior to the filing due date for the taxpayer, spouse, qualifying child, and other dependents; and (5) requiring the taxpayer, spouse, qualifying child, and other dependents to be U.S. citizens or lawfully present aliens, excluding asylees, parolees, temporary protected status holders, those granted withholding of removal, nonimmigrants, deferred action recipients (including DACA), and employment-based immigrant visa holders—and providing a $500 credit for other dependents (as defined in IRC §152, other than qualifying children) subject to the same exclusions. This section further amends the earned income tax credit (EITC) under IRC §32 to impose the same citizenship and lawful presence requirements. This section makes conforming amendments to math error procedures under IRC §6213(g)(2).

This section prohibits the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from using agency funds for (1) sheltering and related activities—including facility improvements and construction—provided by non-Federal entities to relieve overcrowding in U.S. Customs and Border Protection short-term holding facilities, including the Shelter and Services Program and substantially similar programs; (2) the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11331 et seq.) for shelter and services to families and individuals encountered by the Department of Homeland Security, including humanitarian relief awards under EFSP and substantially similar programs; or (3) any FEMA program providing assistance to specified aliens, including those (A) unlawfully present in the United States, (B) granted parole under INA §212(d)(5) or §236(a)(2)(B) (8 U.S.C. §§1182(d)(5), 1226(a)(2)(B)), (C) granted asylum under INA §208 (8 U.S.C. §1158), (D) granted temporary protected status under INA §244 (8 U.S.C. §1254a), (E) granted deferred action or deferred enforced departure (including under the 2012 DACA memorandum), or (F) granted withholding of removal under INA §241(b)(3) (8 U.S.C. §1231(b)(3)). (Thus, these prohibitions restrict FEMA support for migrant shelter and services previously funded through SSP, EFSP, and related initiatives.)

This section establishes a new section 8549D of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) that directs the Secretary of Education to reduce by 50% allotments or grants under any ESEA provision to state educational agencies (SEAs) or eligible entities (e.g., local educational agencies) determined to be in sanctuary jurisdictions, with reallotment of the reduced amounts to non-sanctuary recipients. It further requires SEAs to reduce by 50% subgrants under ESEA to eligible entities in sanctuary political subdivisions (e.g., school districts), with reallocation to non-sanctuary entities. A sanctuary jurisdiction is defined as a state or political subdivision with policies obstructing federal immigration enforcement, including prohibiting communication of individuals' citizenship or immigration status or denying Department of Homeland Security requests under INA §236 or §287 (8 U.S.C. §§1226, 1357) to comply with detainers or provide release notifications.

This section excludes Haitian entrants from the Cuban and Haitian Entrant Program by amending Section 501 of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 (8 U.S.C. 1522 note)—which authorizes federal cash, medical, and social services assistance for such entrants—and making conforming changes to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and SSI deeming provisions (42 U.S.C. 1382(c)(5)). (Thus, only Cuban entrants remain eligible for these resettlement and assistance benefits.)

This section revises immigration status verification requirements for federal means-tested benefit programs (i.e., TANF, SSI, SNAP, and nonemergency Medicaid) under SSA §1137(d) by (1) updating references from the Immigration and Naturalization Service to the Department of Homeland Security or Department of Justice, as applicable, and to the Secretary of Homeland Security; (2) limiting the reasonable opportunity for applicants to submit evidence of satisfactory immigration status to not more than 30 days; (3) prohibiting states from providing program benefits to an individual until the state receives both evidence of satisfactory immigration status and verification of legal status from the Secretary of Homeland Security; (4) striking former subparagraph (B)(ii), which required primary verification methods before accessing the systematic alien verification system; and (5) striking "or terminate" from state procedures for resolving disputed determinations. (Thus, states must suspend—but not terminate—benefits pending verification and may not issue them until status is confirmed.)

This section establishes new eligibility restrictions based on citizenship and parental immigration status for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and free or reduced-price lunches under the National School Lunch Program and breakfasts under the School Breakfast Program. Specifically, (1) under WIC, an infant or child is ineligible if the infant or child is neither a U.S. citizen nor an alien admitted as a refugee under INA §207 (8 U.S.C. 1157) and a parent or guardian is an unlawfully present alien, asylee, parolee, temporary protected status holder, recipient of deferred action or deferred enforced departure (including DACA), or recipient of withholding of removal; and (2) the same criteria apply to free or reduced-price school meals. (Thus, citizen children and refugee children remain eligible regardless of parental status.)

This section prohibits recipients of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds—flexible block grants to states and localities for community and economic development activities such as property acquisition, public facilities, housing rehabilitation, and public services—from using such funds for monetary contributions or in-kind goods or services to specified non-citizens, including (1) unlawfully present aliens, (2) certain parolees under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), (3) asylees, (4) temporary protected status (TPS) holders, (5) deferred action or deferred enforced departure recipients (including DACA), and (6) those granted withholding of removal. It further amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny tax-exempt status to 501(c)(3) organizations for any taxable year in which they use federal grants, appropriations, or other federal funding to provide monetary support, services, or in-kind contributions to similar non-citizens (excluding asylees), effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.