# 119-s-62: America First Act 119-s-62, America First Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-62 - As of: 2025-12-21 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-62 - Congress: 119 - Title: America First Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-01-09 - Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT) - Cosponsors: 1 - Policy area: Immigration - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2025-12-21 ## Summary **Would sharply limit access to many federal benefits based on immigration status.** It would also make the recent child tax credit increase permanent while adding Social Security number and lawful‑presence rules for tax credits and the earned income tax credit. - Families with children would see the child tax credit raised to $2,000 per child with a refundable cap of $1,700. The credit and the earned income tax credit would require Social Security numbers and would exclude many noncitizen categories. - Non‑U.S. nationals including asylees, parolees, Temporary Protected Status recipients, DACA or deferred‑action holders, people with withholding of removal, and those unlawfully present would be barred from programs such as Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, SNAP, and Supplemental Security Income. - Health programs and providers would face limits: Medicare coverage, ACA premium tax credits, cost‑sharing reductions, and Medicaid eligibility could be restricted for disqualified individuals, and federal payments to community health centers could be denied when they provide non‑emergency care to people not lawfully present. - Housing and local aid would change: FHA loan rules and Low‑Income Housing Tax Credit occupancy rules would bar units with disqualified individuals, and elementary and secondary education aid would be reduced by 50% annually for jurisdictions that do not assist federal immigration enforcement. ## Cosponsors (1) - Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK), 2025-01-09T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Tighter Medicare and Medicaid access: cost, high. If enacted, the bill would bar people with parole, asylum, TPS, deferred action, or withholding of removal from Medicare and limit their Medicaid eligibility. It would also block federal Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP payments or Public Health Service grants to community health centers that give non‑… - Tighter noncitizen rules for benefits: cost, high. If enacted, the bill would narrow who counts as a "qualified alien" for federal public benefits and remove several categories from eligibility. States would have at most 30 days to accept immigration evidence and could withhold benefits until DHS verifies status. The bill would also remove statutor… - Stricter rules for federal housing help: cost, high. If enacted, HUD programs would require each family member's eligibility to be proven before assistance. Housing agencies could not use Attorney General exemptions for housing. FHA guaranteed home loans could go only to U.S. citizens or households with no listed disqualified noncitizens. Low‑income… - Tighter health insurance subsidy rules: cost, high. If enacted, the bill would stop people in certain noncitizen categories (asylees, parolees, TPS, deferred action, withholding of removal) from being treated as eligible taxpayers for the premium tax credit. It would also exclude those same groups from cost‑sharing reductions and related Marketplace… - Cuts to education grants for sanctuaries: cost, high. If enacted, the Secretary of Education could cut a State's ESEA allotment or grant by 50 percent for a fiscal year if the State is labeled a sanctuary jurisdiction. The lost funds would be reallocated to other States. State subgrants in the designated area would also face 50 percent cuts. - Limits on Head Start and school meals: cost, medium. If enacted, children would be eligible for Head Start only if they are U.S. citizens or admitted refugees. Infants and children would get WIC or free or reduced school meals only if the child is a U.S. citizen or admitted refugee. If a parent or guardian is in listed noncitizen categories, the chil… - FEMA aid limits for noncitizens: cost, medium. If enacted, FEMA could not use funds for certain sheltering, emergency food, or related programs to assist people in the listed noncitizen categories. FEMA would also be barred from funding some shelter programs to relieve overcrowding at CBP facilities. Affected people could lose FEMA or FEMA‑fund… - Charities could lose tax exemption: cost, medium. If enacted, a 501(c)(3) charity that uses federal grant money to give cash, goods, or services to listed noncitizen categories could lose its tax‑exempt status for that taxable year. The rule applies to taxable years after December 31, 2024. Affected nonprofits could owe taxes and lose funding. - Bigger child credit, stricter ID rules: mixed, high. If enacted, the Child Tax Credit would rise to $2,000 per qualifying child and phase out starting at $400,000 (joint) and $200,000 (other filers). The refundable part would be capped at $1,700 per child and indexed after 2024. But to claim the credit and the EITC, taxpayers, spouses, and children w… - Federal agencies must write rules: mixed, low. If enacted, each Federal agency named in the bill would have to issue any rulemaking and guidance needed to carry out the Act. Agencies would write implementing regulations and guidance to apply the new eligibility and funding rules. ## Related bills - 119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act - 119-s-3077: Safer Supervision Act of 2025 - 119-s-3752: SAVE America Act - 119-s-2907: Chloe Cole Act - 119-s-1158: Working Families Flexibility Act of 2025 - 119-s-1151: Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act ## Sources - [119-s-62 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/62) ## Related - [119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4952) - [119-s-3077: Safer Supervision Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3077) - [119-s-3752: SAVE America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3752) - [119-s-2907: Chloe Cole Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2907) - [119-s-1158: Working Families Flexibility Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1158) - [119-s-1151: Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1151) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-62 (as of 2025-12-21).