# Summary of S. 5576 — America First Act
The America First Act significantly restricts federal benefits and services available to non-citizens. The bill narrows which immigrants qualify for assistance under existing welfare programs and creates new citizenship verification requirements across multiple federal benefit programs. Specifically, it eliminates or reduces eligibility for federal public benefits for many categories of immigrants, including asylum seekers, refugees granted after initial entry, individuals granted temporary protected status, and those with deferred action or parole status. The legislation applies these restrictions to housing assistance, healthcare programs (including Medicaid, Medicare, and insurance subsidies), child nutrition programs, Head Start, postsecondary financial aid, and emergency shelter services. Additionally, the bill increases the child tax credit and earned income tax credit amounts but requires applicants to provide Social Security numbers and meet new citizenship requirements to claim them. The legislation also penalizes schools and other jurisdictions that do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement by reducing their federal education funding by fifty percent, and it prevents tax-exempt organizations receiving federal funding from assisting certain categories of immigrants. The bill does not include specific funding allocations or implementation timelines beyond noting that most provisions take effect after the date of enactment.
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