A message from Michigan Immigrant Rights Center
DETROIT, MI, May 8, 2025: Advocates for immigrant families, health care, food security, and economic opportunity warned today that the federal budget debate in Congress threatens deep cuts to health care and social services for millions of Michigan residents in immigrant families. Spokespersons for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC), the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition (PIF), Michigan Primary Care Association, Michigan League for Public Policy, and Food Bank Council of Michigan briefed Michigan journalists by teleconference.
As congressional committees begin their work to develop a budget “reconciliation” bill, these groups are focused on a range of priority threats to the health and wellbeing of immigrant families. The libertarian Cato Institute confirms that, while immigrants account for more than 7% percent of the U.S. population, immigrants accounted for just 3.5% of all safety net spending. Yet extremist groups and their allies in Congress have targeted immigrant families for safety net cuts.
Because immigrants and their families account for 27% of people in the U.S., these proposals could have a devastating effect nationwide. The Migration Policy Institute estimated in 2023 that immigrants account for more than 1/7 (196,000, or 14%) of the 1.4 million Michigan residents living in families with incomes below the federal poverty line, so proposals targeting immigrant families would have dangerous consequences for our state.
People who are undocumented are not eligible for Medicaid coverage. In fact, even new “green card” recipients must wait five years before qualifying. Yet extremists have urged congressional Republicans to go further, denying Medicaid to all lawfully-present immigrants. Legislation last year (HR 7772, Grothman) was cosponsored by some of the House’s most radical members and interest groups are actively pushing this proposal.
This is the nuclear option, with the potential to deny health care to tens of millions of people who are lawfully present, nationwide. And research shows that when parents have coverage, their children are more likely to be insured, so making immigrant parents uninsured will effectively deny health care to millions of U.S. citizen children in immigrant families.
Beyond the human impact, the proposal poses a real threat to the health care system’s viability. Denying lawfully-present immigrants and their families coverage does not mean they will not need care. It just means that they will be unable to get preventive care, so manageable conditions will worsen, requiring emergency care and shifting the cost of care to hospitals and other providers.
“These cuts will impact immigrant families and communities across the state.” said Christine Sauvé, Policy, Engagement, and Communications Manager at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. “Immigrants are integral to Michigan’s social, cultural, and economic fabric and the proposed restrictions would hurt us all. We all benefit when more people have access to the care and support they need to thrive.”
“Policymakers need to understand that – in addition to the human consequences – these cuts will mean job losses, loss of needed services to keep folks well, and facility closures across our state, including areas already experiencing insufficient healthcare access,” said Jackie Chandler, Population Health Manager at the Michigan Primary Care Association.
“The Child Tax Credit and other anti-poverty measures drastically reduce child poverty, making for a more prosperous economic environment with lower public costs in the long term,” said Scott Preston, Senior Policy Analyst at the Michigan League for Public Policy. “Immigrants are important contributors to our state’s economy and the proposed cuts would simply make life harder for citizens who want to stay in Michigan and be part of our state’s future.”
“Denying SNAP to lawfully-present immigrants and U.S. citizens in immigrant families will drive up hunger across the state and undermine the economic stability of families, farms and other food producers, and neighborhood retailers across the state,” said Anna Almanza, Director of Public Policy & Government Relations, Food Bank Council of Michigan
“Congress should be looking for solutions to problems like unmet health care needs, hunger, and poverty, not making those problems worse,” said PIF Campaign Strategist Esther Reyes.
Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) is a statewide legal resource center for Michigan’s immigrant communities that works to build a thriving Michigan where immigrant communities experience equity and belonging. MIRC’s work is rooted in three pillars: direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community engagement and education. michiganimmigrant.org