# Plain Language Summary: America First Act

This bill makes it significantly harder for immigrants to access federal benefits and services. The core idea is to restrict which immigrants can receive government assistance by narrowing the definition of who qualifies and cutting off access to programs that currently serve them.

The bill targets several major benefit programs. It removes immigrants from eligibility for most federal public benefits unless they're U.S. citizens or admitted as refugees. This affects Medicaid (health insurance for low-income people), Medicare (health insurance for seniors), housing assistance, and food programs like WIC and school meals. The bill specifically excludes people who have been granted temporary protections like asylum, parole status, temporary protected status (TPS), or DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). Even though these people currently have legal permission to be in the country, the bill would cut off their access to these programs. For example, a parent with DACA status who currently qualifies for Medicaid would lose that coverage under this bill.

The bill also creates new citizenship verification requirements for programs serving children and families. Head Start programs (early childhood education for low-income families) would have to verify that children are citizens or refugees, making it harder for children of immigrants to attend. Similarly, schools would need to verify citizenship for students to receive free or reduced-price meals. Additionally, the bill restricts federal funding to schools and communities that don't fully cooperate with immigration enforcement, and it limits disaster relief assistance from FEMA to certain groups of immigrants.

The practical effect is that millions of immigrants currently living and working legally in the United States—including many who have been here for years—would lose access to health care, food assistance, housing help, and other safety-net programs. This would likely affect not just the immigrants themselves but also their U.S. citizen family members who depend on household income and might lose access to joint benefits.