印第安纳州共和党参议员吉姆·班克斯在给特朗普政府关键机构的一封信中写道：”美国纳税人很可能应收回一大笔钱”
by Peter Pinedo
福克斯新闻
2026年2月5日 美国东部时间上午6:48
独家： 印第安纳州共和党参议员吉姆·班克斯正敦促特朗普政府的关键机构追回他认为可能高达数十亿美元的、用美国纳税人的钱支付给移民的医疗补助、食品券和教育费用。
作为一名初任参议员和保守派激进分子，班克斯认为，根据法律，美国合法移民的担保人有义务向政府偿还被担保人使用的任何福利。尽管《移民与国籍法》中已有相关规定，但班克斯表示，这一规定在很大程度上未得到执行。
然而，在特朗普政府的领导下，他认为这一局面最终可以改变。
周三，班克斯向国土安全部、农业部、卫生与公众服务部、住房和城市发展部部长以及美国国税局和社会保障局专员发送了一封信，要求这些机构追究移民担保人的责任，并向美国纳税人退款。
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班克斯引用了移民研究中心的一项研究，该研究称非法外国人仅在公共教育费用上每年就给美国纳税人造成约680亿美元的损失，在福利方面造成420亿美元，在医疗方面造成70亿美元，他称这”远远超过了这一群体缴纳的税款金额”。
除了非法外国人获得的违法福利外，班克斯表示，政府”还可能应收回合法使用福利的大部分款项”。
“美国的政策是外国人不应依赖公共资源，”班克斯在信中写道。
尽管如此，班克斯写道，”大多数外国家庭都会获得经经济状况调查的[基于收入的]福利”，如医疗补助、食品券和贫困家庭临时援助（TANF）。
“移民法不容忍这种政府依赖的比率，”他写道，并指出《移民与国籍法》的一部分规定，通过要求某些非公民偿还所获福利来确保自给自足。
“担保人同意向联邦政府偿还外国人在成为公民前使用的任何经经济状况调查的福利。这一承诺通过一份合同执行，”他补充道，”根据该合同，管理经经济状况调查项目的机构可以要求非公民在获得福利期间偿还福利费用。”
对于美国最大的合法移民来源——家庭签证项目，班克斯表示，该合同可在10年内通过法院执行。自2016年以来，通过该项目进入美国的移民估计有350万人。
班克斯称，”找不到联邦机构要求为进入该项目的移民提供福利报销的记录”，这表明”美国纳税人很可能应收回一大笔钱”。
他要求特朗普政府在3月1日前提供以下信息：根据这些合同向移民支付的经经济状况调查福利总额，以及政府已要求偿还的金额。他还要求政府分享其执行这些合同的计划，并说明各机构将采取哪些措施”确保外国人在进入美国后不依赖政府支持”。
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美国住房和城市发展部发言人在回应这封信时告诉福克斯新闻数字版，住房和城市发展部”正在探索追究外国人担保人责任并保护美国纳税人的所有选择”。
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美国农业部发言人告诉福克斯新闻数字版：”获得临时保护身份（TPS）的非公民只有在同时拥有另一种符合条件的移民身份时，才有资格获得食品券福利。”
美国农业部发言人表示：”包括食品券在内的我们项目的资格规则可能很复杂，往往取决于移民身份和其他要求等多种因素。”
“例如，获得TPS的海地公民如果仅以TPS身份，就没有资格获得食品券。但如果他们同时符合1980年《难民教育和援助法》第501(e)条规定的古巴和海地入境者（CHE）的定义，就可能有资格。”他们补充道，”根据移民身份有资格获得福利的个人，如被归类为古巴或海地入境者，还必须满足食品券的其他资格要求，如收入和资源限制。”
与此同时，班克斯告诉福克斯新闻数字版：”这关乎执行已经存在的法律。”
“担保人同意，如果移民领取福利，就向纳税人偿还，政府需要兑现这一承诺，”他总结道。
彼得·皮内多是福克斯新闻数字版的政治记者。
GOP firebrand urges Trump agencies to claw back massive taxpayer benefits paid out to immigrants
‘American taxpayers may well be owed a large amount of money,’ Sen Jim Banks, R-Ind., wrote in a letter to key Trump administration agencies
By Peter Pinedo
Fox News
Published February 5, 2026 6:48am EST
EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., is urging key agencies in the Trump administration to recoup what he believes could amount to billions in Medicaid, SNAP and education expenses paid out to immigrants on the American taxpayer’s dime.
Banks, a first-term senator and conservative firebrand, argues that by law the sponsors of legal immigrants to the U.S. are required to reimburse the government for any welfare benefits used by their sponsee. Though written in law, the Immigration and Nationality Act, Banks said this has by and large not been carried out.
Under the Trump administration, however, he believes that can finally change.
In a letter sent on Wednesday to the secretaries of the Department of Homeland Security, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and the commissioners of the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration, Banks asked the agencies to hold immigrant sponsors accountable and refund American taxpayers.
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Banks cites a study by the Center for Immigration Studies that posit that illegal aliens alone cost American taxpayers an estimated $68 billion a year in public education costs, $42 billion in welfare, and $7 billion in medical treatment, which he said is “eclipsing the amount this group pays in taxes.”
Aside from the benefits paid out contrary to the law to illegal aliens, Banks said the government “may also be owed repayment for a large portion of lawful use.”
“It is the policy of the United States that aliens should not depend on public resources,” Banks wrote in the letter.
Despite this, Banks wrote that “most alien households receive means-tested [income-based] benefits,” such as Medicaid, SNAP and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
“The immigration laws do not tolerate this rate of government dependence,” he wrote, pointing to a portion of the Immigration and Nationality Act that he said ensures self-sufficiency “by mandating repayment for benefits received by certain non-citizens.”
“Sponsoring relatives agree to reimburse the federal government for any means-tested benefit used by the alien before that alien becomes a citizen. This pledge is executed in a contract,” he wrote, adding that “pursuant to that contract, agencies that administer means-tested programs may seek repayment for benefits received while the alien was a non-citizen.”
For the largest source of legal immigration into the U.S., the family visa program, Banks said the contract can be enforced in court for ten years. There have been an estimated 3.5 million immigrants who have entered the country through the program since 2016.
Banks said that “no records can be found of federal agencies requesting reimbursement” for benefits to immigrants entering the program, indicating that “American taxpayers may well be owed a large amount of money.”
He asked the Trump administration to provide answers by March 1 on the total amount in means-tested benefits paid out to immigrants under these contracts and the amount the government has sought to have reimbursed. He also asked the administration to share its plans to enforce the contracts and lay out what steps agencies will be taking “to ensure that aliens do not become dependent on government support after entering the country.”
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In response to the letter, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development told Fox News Digital that HUD “is exploring all options to hold alien sponsors accountable and protect the American taxpayer.”
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A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture told Fox News Digital that “non-citizens who have been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are not eligible to receive SNAP benefits unless they also have another immigration status that qualifies.”
The USDA spokesperson said “the rules governing eligibility for our programs, including SNAP, can be complex and often depend on multiple factors such as immigration status and other requirements.”
“For example, Haitian nationals granted TPS are not eligible for SNAP just because they have TPS. However, they may qualify if they also meet the definition of a Cuban and Haitian entrant (CHE) under Section 501(e) of the Refugee Education and Assistance Act of 1980,” they said, adding, “Individuals who are eligible based on their immigration status, such as being classified as a Cuban or Haitian entrant,must also satisfy other SNAP eligibility requirements such as income and resource limits.”
Meanwhile, Banks told Fox News Digital “this is about enforcing the law that’s already on the books.”
“Sponsors agreed to repay taxpayers if immigrants went on welfare, and the government needs to hold them to that promise,” he concluded.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
