Undocumented immigrants who enter the United States as part of the record-breaking migration crisis are eligible for a range of services, assistance and benefits within a complex network of federal, state and local programs and taxpayer-funded providers.
In fiscal year 2023, 2.4 million migrants crossed the border in the U.S., a record high, and more than 7 million have entered the country since 2021. Some were sent back or deported, but many others were processed and released into the U.S. Overall, nearly 7.3 million migrants have crossed the southern border under President Biden’s administration, according to a Fox News analysis conducted earlier this year.
Once at the border, migrants who are unable to evade Border Patrol and are detained are processed and, if not deported, are often given notices to appear in immigration court and ultimately released into the U.S. Because of the court’s massive backlog (currently about 3.6 million cases), that appearance is usually years away.
Migrants released into the interior currently cannot work legally until six months after applying for asylum, but not all illegal immigrants do so, and many have paid smugglers thousands of dollars to get them to the southern border, often leaving them with few funds.
Some people have access to help from family members already living in the U.S., but others don’t. As you move deeper into the country, there are many resources available to you.
Migrants who crossed the border from Mexico wait to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol in Yuma, Arizona, on August 6, 2022. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
Conservatives warn that offering such benefits to undocumented immigrants would be a magnet for immigration and cost American taxpayers.
“Illegal immigrants who come to the United States want five things: to enter the United States, to stay here, to work, to send money back to their home countries, and to bring their families over or have their families live in the United States. All of these benefits help illegal immigrants stay in the United States, so certainly benefits are an attractant,” Laura Rees, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center on Border Security and Immigration, told Fox News Digital.
“Another benefit is legal services for civil deportation hearings, a benefit that U.S. citizens do not receive. Given that millions of people will be coming into the U.S. under a Biden administration, U.S. taxpayers will see significant tax increases to pay for all these services provided to people who should not be in the U.S., which means Americans will have even less money to spend on gas, groceries and rent,” she said.
At the border
At the border, migrants detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) receive care and treatment as needed. In addition to shelter and food, basic medical care is provided and provided. If an illegal migrant in ICE custody anywhere in the country needs medical care, a medical professional usually provides treatment on-site. However, if specialized or emergency care is needed, they may be transferred to an independent private provider. ICE’s medical services unit reimburses providers at Medicare rates.
When migrants are released, they are often handed over at the border to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which care for them and help them enter the United States.
NGOs do provide services and assistance, but often with federal funding. In addition to caring for migrants at CBP stations, the federal government provides hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to NGOs and communities that host migrants. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in fiscal year 2024 it will provide $640.9 million through its Shelter and Services Program to help “non-federal entities” such as city governments and NGOs offset costs associated with migrant arrivals. Recently, DHS expanded the caps on both hotel and airfare to 10% of total requested funding and allowed NGOs to apply for waivers from those caps due to operational need.
“SSP grants have provided critical support to immigrant-receiving communities, and the need for this support continues,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a September statement.
NGOs help migrants with hotel rooms and transportation, often bus or train tickets but sometimes flights. Some migrants book their own flights, while others use buses organized by the office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who provides free transport to “sanctuary” cities across the country.
2023 Government Accountability Office The report said the Federal Emergency Management Agency provided more than $282 million in humanitarian grants to NGOs in fiscal years 2019, 2021 and 2022.
According to the report, services provided to migrants include food, clothing, transportation to airports and bus stations, medical care, legal assistance, translation assistance, and travel booking assistance. Migrants typically pay for their own travel, according to these nonprofits. Most of the more than $10 million the report examined was spent on food and shelter (about 58%). The next two categories were per capita spending (personal food, shelter, and medical care) and transportation.
Meanwhile, another Department of Homeland Security pilot program, the Case Management Pilot Program, provides case management and other services to people in immigration deportation proceedings. Services include mental health services, school enrollment, legal assistance, “cultural orientation programs,” connections to social services, and even human trafficking screening and exit planning for those facing deportation.
State and local level
Once migrants reach their destinations across the country, they receive varying levels of assistance: Many “sanctuary” cities offer shelter to migrants as part of a broader safety net, and some have migrant-specific programs to help them settle in the U.S. Some of these cities have tried to limit how long migrants can stay, with New York City and Chicago limiting family stays to 60 days earlier this year amid continuing capacity problems.
In Denver, immigrants can enroll in a program that offers up to six months of “assisted housing options,” as well as pre-employment training, case management, language instruction, career path exploration, and “work-based learning opportunities.”
If migrants go to New York City, they may be eligible for prepaid debit cards. A pilot program there is spending $53 million to give a family with two children $350 a week. The cards can only be used at grocery, general and convenience stores, and migrants must promise to spend only on food and baby products. New York officials said they want to expand the program to all migrant families currently staying in hotels. According to the New York Post, a family of four could get about $1,000 a month, or $35 a day for food. The cards are refilled every 28 days.
New York State also expanded state-funded Medicaid coverage to individuals age 65 and older, regardless of immigration status.
Asylum seekers line up outside the historic Roosevelt Hotel, which has been converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived immigrant families in New York City. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
New York City is also offering one-way tickets to migrants and opened “re-ticket centers” for them last year. A city spokesman said the city was “redoubled efforts to purchase tickets for migrants” who want to travel elsewhere.
This year marks the first year that undocumented immigrants will be eligible for Cal-Health coverage in California. Since 2019, undocumented immigrants under the age of 26 have been able to get health insurance for free, but in 2024, eligibility will be expanded to include residents ages 26 to 49.
“In California, we believe everyone has a right to quality, affordable health insurance, regardless of income or immigration status,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said in a statement.
In Washington, DC, undocumented immigrants can receive health insurance through the long-standing Health Care Alliance program. In Oregon, the Protect All Act extended state-funded health insurance to all low-income adults who were previously ineligible for health insurance because of their immigration status. There has been a similar move in Virginia to extend state-funded health insurance to the children of undocumented immigrants.
Some cities and states also offer legal assistance to undocumented immigrants. In Chicago, the Legal Defense Fund was established in 2017 and is funded by taxpayers through the city government and partners with nongovernmental organizations to provide “community-based assistance, education, legal advice, and legal representation to thousands of immigrants each year.”
Federal Level
Undocumented immigrants, including new immigrants, are generally not eligible to receive federal benefits. However, they may receive benefits on behalf of their children if they are U.S. citizens. They may also be eligible for emergency medical care through Medicaid if they meet the eligibility requirements. There are also a number of emergency nutrition assistance programs available to undocumented immigrants, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
Additionally, the Biden administration has moved to allow undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and who qualify for protections under the Deferred Action for Young Adults program to apply for Obamacare.
Apart from this, millions of illegal immigrants would be able to enjoy a range of additional benefits if they were given a path to citizenship. The Biden administration proposed a comprehensive immigration reform bill in early 2021 that would have granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants already living in the United States and paved the way for them to first obtain green cards and eventually citizenship. However, in its current form, it would not apply to those who entered the United States after 2021. Although the bill was defeated due to strong opposition from Republicans, the Biden administration has repeatedly touted it as an example of comprehensive immigration reform that they believe would fix what they call a “broken” immigration system.
