Senate bill would strip benefits from legal immigrants and revoke naturalized citizenship

What does this do?

S 3318 would cut off most federal benefits for non-citizens, including Medicaid except emergency care, food stamps, housing assistance, federal student aid, and certain tax credits. It would allow the government to revoke citizenship from naturalized Americans convicted of, or found by the Department of Homeland Security to have participated in, riots, violent protests, property destruction, or actions seen as threatening the constitutional order. The bill also expands fast-track deportation authority, requires security re-screening of Afghan refugees and visa holders who arrived on or after January 20, 2021, and changes Temporary Protected Status rules so that TPS automatically ends for nationals of a country if their crime rate exceeds the national average by 20 percent or more.

Who does it affect?

The bill would affect legal immigrants, visa holders, and all non-citizens or non-nationals living in the United States, as well as naturalized American citizens. Afghan refugees, special immigrant visa holders, and parolees who arrived starting January 20, 2021, and people currently holding TPS from Afghanistan, Haiti, Venezuela, and Somalia would face specific additional consequences.

Why does it matter?

Non-citizens who lose federal benefits would no longer have access to programs such as Medicaid, food assistance, or housing support. Naturalized citizens whose citizenship is revoked could face deportation through a fast-track removal process, and TPS holders from named countries could lose their legal permission to live and work in the United States.

What does it cost, and who pays?

• Afghan resettlement funding paused
• New Afghan visa processing frozen
• Pause lasts until re-screening certified