House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, has filed legislation to ensure taxpayer-funded assistance programs serve those lawfully present in the United States.

“These bills are about accountability, fairness, and the rule of law,” Hilbert said. “Oklahoma taxpayers should never be forced to subsidize benefits for individuals who are in our country illegally. These services are intended for legal tax-paying citizens, and we are going to make sure that is who is receiving these benefits in Oklahoma.”

House Bills 4422 and 4423 reinforce eligibility standards for public assistance programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, better known as the “food stamp” program), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, and Women and Infant Children (WIC), by clarifying that individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States are ineligible for taxpayer-funded benefits.

It’s estimated that millions of illegal immigrants entered the United States during the Biden administration due to lax-to-nonexistent border-security efforts during those years.

In testimony presented to a U.S. House subcommittee at a Jan. 11, 2024, hearing, Steven A. Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, warned, “Illegal immigrants make extensive use of welfare.”

Based on government data, officials at the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that 59 percent of households headed by illegal immigrants use one or more major welfare programs, compared to 39 percent of households headed by the U.S.-born.

Based on illegal immigrants’ use rate of major welfare programs, officials with the center estimated that illegal immigrants receive $42 billion in benefits, or about 4 percent of the total cost of the cash, Medicaid, food, and housing programs examined in the group’s study, but warned that figure was “only a rough approximation due to limitations in the data.”

The center concluded that taxpayer subsidies to illegal immigrants substantially exceed the amount of taxes paid by illegal immigrants.

Hilbert’s legislation strengthens verification requirements to ensure state agencies are complying with federal law and that benefits are directed to eligible recipients only.

Hilbert said the legislation is pro-worker, pro-taxpayer, and pro-law enforcement.

“We continue to undo the effects of reckless federal border policies created by the Biden Administration that have made every state a border state. Oklahoma must send a clear message: We stand with legal immigrants, American workers, and the men and women of ICE and Border Patrol who enforce our laws,” Hilbert said. “This promotes cooperation with federal authorities and reinforces that Oklahoma will not serve as a magnet for illegal immigration or the misuse of public resources.”

Together, the measures reaffirm House leadership’s dedication to an America First agenda focused on “Safeguarding Eligibility, Compliance and Use of Resources Efficiently” (SECURE), Hilbert said.