# 119-hr-746: America First Act

119-hr-746, America First Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Arrington, Jodey C. [R-TX-19] (R-TX); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-746
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-746
- Congress: 119
- Title: America First Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-01-28
- Sponsor: Rep. Arrington, Jodey C. [R-TX-19] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: Immigration
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Tighten federal benefit eligibility by linking most programs and major tax credits to citizenship or lawful presence.** The bill would narrow the definition of "qualified alien" and bar parolees, deferred action recipients, asylum seekers, temporary protected status holders, and similar statuses from many federal programs. - Families: It would raise the base Child Tax Credit to $2,000 and set the maximum refundable portion at $1,700 per child while adding Social Security number and lawful-presence requirements. The Earned Income Tax Credit would require the same citizenship and SSN rules. - Immigrants and noncitizens: It would disqualify parolees, DACA-eligible deferred action recipients, asylum recipients, TPS holders, persons granted withholding of removal, and the unlawfully present from Medicaid, Medicare enrollment, Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions, Head Start, WIC, school meals, FEMA assistance, Community Development Block Grant uses, and many assisted housing programs. - Schools, housing, and local governments: Jurisdictions labeled as "sanctuary" would face a 50% cut to certain federal education grant allotments with lost funds reallocated to non-sanctuary areas. Federal student financial aid would be limited to U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.

## Cosponsors (4)

- Rep. Roy, Chip [R-TX-21] (R-TX), 2025-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gill, Brandon [R-TX-26] (R-TX), 2025-03-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brecheen, Josh [R-OK-2] (R-OK), 2025-03-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Miller, Mary E. [R-IL-15] (R-IL), 2025-04-28T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Tighter health coverage for immigrants: cost, high. If enacted, many noncitizens in listed immigration categories could lose health coverage and subsidies. The bill would bar premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions for people with asylum, parole, TPS, deferred action (including DACA), or withholding-of-removal status. It would exclude those…
- Housing rules limit immigrant access: cost, high. If enacted, housing programs and tax rules would tighten around immigration status. The bill would require agencies to confirm every family member's eligibility before giving housing aid. It would make any unit occupied by a disqualified noncitizen ineligible for the low-income housing tax credit.…
- Head Start immigration eligibility limits: cost, medium. If enacted, Head Start eligibility would be limited by immigration status. A child would be eligible only if a U.S. citizen or an admitted refugee. A child would be ineligible if any parent or guardian is unlawfully present or in listed statuses such as parole, TPS, asylum, deferred action (includi…
- Narrower 'qualified alien' rules: cost, medium. If enacted, the bill would narrow who counts as a "qualified alien" for federal public-benefit rules under PRWORA. It would remove some previously covered categories and exclude housing programs from an exemption pathway. This would reduce benefit eligibility for the affected immigrant groups.
- Bigger child tax credit but limits: mixed, high. If enacted, the Child Tax Credit base would rise to $2,000 per qualifying child. The refundable portion would be capped at $1,700 per child, with inflation adjustments after 2026. The credit would phase out starting at $400,000 for joint filers and $200,000 for other filers. Returns must report SSN…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-1: One Big Beautiful Bill Act
- 119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act
- 119-hr-885: Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act
- 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act
- 119-hr-569: Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-746 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/746)

## Related
- [119-hr-1: One Big Beautiful Bill Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1)
- [119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-21)
- [119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-404)
- [119-hr-885: Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-885)
- [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425)
- [119-hr-569: Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-569)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-746 (as of 2026-04-21).