Trump Admin Takes First Step to Demand Payback From Sponsors of Immigrants Who Use Welfare

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has begun to remind immigrants that if they receive any welfare benefits prior to becoming a citizen, their sponsors will be responsible for paying back the government.

“If the sponsored immigrant receives any federal means-tested public benefits, the sponsor will be expected to reimburse the benefits-granting agency for every dollar of benefits received by the immigrant,” the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) wrote on Twitter on June 14.

Immigrants who apply for permanent residency and citizenship in the United States are required to find a sponsor who guarantees to support them financially. The affidavit of support is a legally enforceable contract between the sponsor and the government. The financial obligation usually ends once the immigrant becomes naturalized or after the immigrant completes 10 years of full-time work.

Update: National Guard Troops Shot in DC Were Ambushed, Shot at Point-Blank Range

‘We Will Never Back Down’: Trump, Hegseth Refuse to Yield After National Guardsmen Shot, Sending 500 More Troops to DC

Bipartisan support, outrage pour in after ‘targeted’ DC shooting of National Guardsmen: ‘Horrific’

Fox News Politics Newsletter: US envoy gave Russian aide tips on selling Ukraine deal

BREAKING: White House Locked Down After National Guard Troops Shot in DC

Breaking: Trump Bans South Africa from G20 Summit Over Refusing to Acknowledge ‘Killing’ of ‘White People’

Weakening incomes add new strain to households already hit by high prices

Trump blocks South Africa from 2026 G20 summit for alleged ‘horrific human rights abuses’

Two National Guard members shot near White House, suspect in custody: police

Russia denies leaking Witkoff call, claims it was meant to undermine negotiations

They helped China push propaganda. Then they became feds

Suspect in Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting dies in federal custody

Military officers in Guinea-Bissau say they seized ‘total control’ and arrested president in coup

Noem greenlit deportation flights after judge’s emergency order, DOJ reveals — fueling contempt fight

BREAKING: Georgia Prosecutor to Abandon Election Interference Case Against Trump

The USCIS is taking the step in response to a presidential memorandum signed by President Donald Trump in May. The order directs federal agencies to update their regulations to comply with a federal law which prohibits non-citizens from receiving public benefits.

“As part of implementation, we’ll now remind individuals at their adjustment of status interviews of their sponsors’ responsibilities under existing law & regs,” USCIS wrote on Twitter.

Both legal and illegal immigrants use welfare at a far greater rate than native households, according to a study by the Center for Immigration Studies. In 2012, 51 percent of legal and illegal immigrant households used welfare, compared to 30 percent of native households. That year, the federal government spent roughly $500 billion on the programs reviewed by the study.

In fiscal year 2018, USCIS granted citizenship to 757,000 people and approved green cards for 1.1 million people. The number of approvals for green cards reached a five-year high.