On February 19, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders,” which directs the heads of federal departments and agencies to take a number of actions to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not go to persons who lack an immigration status, as well as a fact sheet with additional details about the EO. These include (1) identifying federally funded programs that permit undocumented immigrants to obtain any cash or no-cash benefit, (2) send funds to any jurisdiction where sanctuary policies are in place, and (3) enhance eligibility verification systems so they exclude undocumented immigrants. Within 30 days, the Office of Management and Budget and DOGE must identify all other sources of Federal funding for undocumented immigrants and recommend other actions to carry out the aims of the EO.

Impact: While the EO purports to stop federal benefits and payments going to undocumented immigrants, the EO’s text itself acknowledges that under federal law, undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for most federal programs. In addition to being duplicative of existing federal law, the EO is also redundant with other EOs that have mentioned cutting federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions. The broad language of the EO could however lead to additional eligibility requirements, processes, or restrictions on certain types of public assistance, which could potentially impact persons who are in fact eligible for such assistance.