Law & Principles

Oklahoma House panel advances measures mandating immigration verification for welfare

February 19, 2026

Ray Carter

Two bills that would prevent illegal aliens from accessing taxpayer-funded welfare programs are now headed to the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

House Bill 4423, by House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, requires the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to verify a Medicaid applicant’s citizenship status using the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system. Under the bill, no benefits may be provided to an applicant until legal status is confirmed.

House Bill 4422, also by Hilbert, imposes similar requirements on the Oklahoma Department of Human Services when reviewing applications for two other welfare programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, better known as the “food stamp” program) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

Under both bills, if the SAVE status indicates a person is not legally in the United States, state agencies are required to notify the Office of the Attorney General, where officials will review the case and notify the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency if an applicant’s legal status in the United States is unverifiable.

“What this legislation is looking at is just ensuring that welfare is going to American citizens and not to noncitizens and those not qualified,” said Hilbert, R-Bristow.

Hilbert noted there is no additional state expense created by using the SAVE system.

Democrats balked, saying the bills may deter illegal immigrants from seeking welfare benefits for family members.

“My continued concern is the message we’re sending out, and that even for those who are parents, maybe undocumented, but the child was born here and they are eligible for these services, that they won’t do that because they are now afraid of being targeted,” said House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson of Oklahoma City.

Hilbert noted that any individual who is in the United States illegally made a conscious choice to violate the law, knowing they are subject to deportation if caught.

“If somebody is here in this country illegally, there’s nothing about being targeted,” Hilbert said. “They committed a crime. They’re in this country illegally.”

HB 4422 passed the House Health and Human Services Oversight Committee on an 8-3 vote that broke along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.

HB 4423 passed on an identical vote of 8-3.

Both bills now proceed to the full Oklahoma House of Representatives.

[House Speaker Kyle Hilbert is pictured above. Photo credit: Oklahoma House of Representatives]