Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) admitted this week that the ongoing government shutdown fight is tied to Democrats’ efforts to expand taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits to illegal aliens.
In an interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, Khanna acknowledged that Democrats are pushing for policies that would allow illegals to access subsidized medical care.
“In terms of the healthcare, the reality is they are just not being honest,” Khanna said.
“The amount of money that actually is going towards people who are undocumented is such a small portion of the Medicaid cuts or the Affordable Care Act, if at all.”
He attempted to downplay the issue by insisting that “90 to 95 percent of the funding we’re talking about is funding for American citizens.”
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The comments mirror similar remarks from other Democrats in recent days.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), when asked if Democrats were demanding health care for illegal aliens, responded:
“Democrats are demanding healthcare for everybody.”
Critics note that Waters’ statement includes illegal immigrants.
Analysts have long warned that providing free healthcare for illegal aliens could cost American taxpayers between $23 billion and $66 billion every year, potentially as much as $660 billion over a decade.
Current estimates suggest Americans already subsidize roughly $18.5 billion annually in medical costs for illegal aliens.
White House Memo: Democrats Putting “American Patients Last”
Khanna’s comments come on the heels of a White House memo that blasted Democrats’ shutdown demands, warning that if their plan is enacted, nearly $200 billion in taxpayer money would be diverted to healthcare for illegal immigrants over the next decade.
“Democrats’ funding proposal would put American Patients Last by undoing critical reforms, thereby spending nearly $200 billion in taxpayer money on healthcare benefits for illegal immigrants and other non-citizens,” the memo warned.
The administration highlighted six provisions in President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cut Act that Democrats want repealed, which would once again open the floodgates for Medicaid, Medicare, and Obamacare funding to flow to non-citizens.
Operation Guardian Shows the Real Cost of Weak Borders
Meanwhile, Republican governors are moving ahead with their own initiatives to counter the consequences of illegal immigration.
In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt recently launched Operation Guardian, which led to the arrest of 120 illegal immigrants at a port of entry near the Texas border.
Many of the offenders were caught driving 80,000-pound semi-trucks with unverifiable or fraudulent licenses, posing a direct safety risk to families on the road.
Stitt argued that federal negligence has forced states to step up.
“Former President Biden’s weak border policies allowed our country to become a safe haven for criminal illegal migrants — that ends in Oklahoma with Operation Guardian,” he said.
The plan not only moves offenders directly into deportation proceedings but also emphasizes the rapid removal of non-citizens convicted of violent crimes.
Trump: Democrats Putting Illegal Immigrants First
President Donald Trump has consistently accused Democrats of prioritizing illegal immigrants over American families in the shutdown fight.
The White House has warned that, if left unchecked, Democrats’ demands would siphon money away from programs like the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to bankroll benefits for illegal aliens.
Republicans argue the contrast could not be clearer: while Democrats are holding up government funding over giveaways to illegal immigrants, the Trump administration is working to secure the border, strengthen deportation programs, and ensure taxpayer-funded benefits go to U.S. citizens.
READ MORE – Republicans Move to Dock Lawmakers’ Pay During Government Shutdowns
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