The president wants federal benefits to go to ‘American citizens who are truly in need, including individuals with disabilities and veterans,’ an official said.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 19 directing all agencies to identify any federally funded programs that provide financial assistance to illegal immigrants and “take corrective actions” to ensure funds to states and localities “will not be used to support sanctuary policies or assist illegal immigration.”
The order also mandates improvements in eligibility verification to block federal assistance from reaching anyone present in the nation illegally.
Initially reported by Fox News, a White House official confirmed the order to The Epoch Times and provided a fact sheet stating it is Trump’s commitment to “safeguarding Federal public benefits for American citizens who are truly in need, including individuals with disabilities and veterans.”
SCOOP: Per WH official on background, later tonight, President Trump will sign an executive order designed to terminate any & all federal taxpayer benefits going to illegal aliens. The order will direct every federal agency & department to identify all federally funded programs…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 19, 2025
“With this Executive Order, President Trump is ensuring taxpayer resources are used to protect the interests of American citizens, not illegal aliens,” the fact sheet states. It notes that illegal immigrants are “generally barred from welfare programs” but suggests that if some are granted parole and classified as “qualified aliens,” they may become eligible for various programs on a sliding scale.
It is the latest action in the president’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration since reentering the White House on Jan. 20. Trump has signed numerous executive orders related to immigration, including one reinterpreting the 14th Amendment’s Birthright Citizenship clause, another creating a “national border emergency,” and others targeting “sanctuary” cities and jurisdictions.
Trump also ordered the continuing construction of a wall at the southern border, ended most asylum programs, reinstituted his previous “Remain in Mexico” policy, and ended the CBP One app, which migrants used to schedule asylum hearings ahead of entering the United States.
Trump recently signed an executive order calling for detaining criminal illegal immigrants at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba and began crackdowns in major cities with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
By Jacob Burg and Aldgra Fredl
