House-passed Budget Reconciliation Legislation Fails Our Communities, Guts Refugees, Immigrants, and Vulnerable Families’ Access to Food Assistance and Medical Care

Earlier today, the House passed its budget reconciliation bill that seeks to divert massive funds away from – and strip access to – programs that connect refugees and U.S.-born families to domestic resources, like food assistance, Medicaid, and Medicare. If passed in its current form by the Senate, it would have sweeping and harmful impacts on refugees, immigrants, newcomers, and other marginalized communities. 

“The proposals advanced in this bill amount to unprecedented cuts to programming that ensures millions of children and families have food assistance and medical care, life-saving domestic programs they rely on to meet their most basic needs. These cuts eliminate health care for millions, gut nutrition assistance, and make higher education more expensive and eliminate refugees’ eligibility for federal financial aid, all while paving the way for massive increases in immigration deportation and enforcement funding. The cruelty of this bill is historic in scale, marking a devastating failure for marginalized communities across the country. While the Trump administration tears families apart, this bill uses taxpayer resources for mass deportation and to dismantle our democratic principles. There’s a better path forward; the Senate must reject this legislation and instead restore a bipartisan commitment to ensure that refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, and all vulnerable communities get the help they need,” said John Slocum, Executive Director of Refugee Council USA (RCUSA).

For more information, please utilize our Action Alert and visit our Action Center for other ways to contact our elected officials. 

Media contact: Mariam Sayeed, msayeed@rcusa.org

RCUSA is a diverse coalition advocating for just and humane laws and policies, and the promotion of dialogue and communication among government, civil society, and those who need protection and welcome. This statement does not necessarily reflect the views of each individual RCUSA member organization.

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