# The Tough Love Act: What This Immigration Bill Actually Does

This bill would make major changes to how the federal government handles immigration, with effects reaching into employment, healthcare, education, and state services. At its core, the bill aims to restrict benefits and work opportunities to people who are in the country legally, while making it harder for people without legal status to stay or work here.

The most immediate change affects work permits. Currently, some people without full legal status can get permission to work in the United States through various programs. This bill would eliminate that possibility entirely—only people with lawful immigration status could get work authorization. The bill also prevents work permits from being used as identification for travel on airplanes. Additionally, the bill requires that anyone entering the country on a temporary visa (like tourists or business visitors) must post a bond of $10,000 to $25,000. If they overstay their visa by even one day, they automatically lose that money with no chance to appeal, get removed from the country, and become ineligible for any legal immigration status for five years.

The bill goes further by restricting what states can do with federal funding. States that receive Medicare, Medicaid, or education funding would be prohibited from providing non-emergency medical care or any education services to people without legal immigration status. States that issue driver's licenses to people without legal status would lose all federal transportation funding. Schools and universities—both public and private—would lose federal funding if they educate anyone without lawful immigration status. The bill also requires that anyone receiving federal grants must use E-Verify, a system that checks whether employees are authorized to work. Finally, the bill requires states to ensure federal funding goes only to citizens and legally present immigrants, giving states broad power to deny benefits to undocumented immigrants.