In an outdoor ceremony marked by the sights of hundreds of supporters and jet formations overhead, the United States witnessed former President Donald Trump seal a landmark GOP tax and funding reduction decree into law on July 4, fulfilling his own target deadline. This new law is set to bring significant financial backing for numerous Trump-era domestic policies including stringent immigration control, with budgeting that nearly stretches to $170 billion to support border control initiatives.
The finalized legislation assigns $45 billion for the maintenance and operation of immigration detention centers. There’s also an allocation of approximately $30 billion intended to expand the workforce of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), cater to transportation necessities, and uphold ICE facilities.
Trump’s practice of vocal advocacy for a border wall finally receives nearly $46.5 billion in this legislation to turn it into reality. When the former president was on the campaign trail, the notion of a border wall remained a constant echo. This fund comprises $5 billion allotted for Customs and Border Protection infrastructure and a further $10 billion for other border security projects.
An approximate $13.5 billion of the bill’s total funds will be held in reserve to refund states and local governments for their efforts in immigration and border enforcement. This strategic allocation of budgets aids these entities to manage the financial demands of effective immigration control. This support is expected to go a long way in streamlining processes.
The comprehensive legislation, known as the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act,’ which passed both the Senate and House swiftly, incorporates several provisions engineered to extract more finances from immigrants’ earnings. The reform targets the income of immigrants, regardless of their documentation status, to support the funding for the then-president’s agenda.
Specific measures in the legislation include barring the children of undocumented parents, despite their U.S. citizenship, from being eligible for the child tax credit. This credit is a yearly financial bumper designed to ease the fiscal strain of upbringing children. It’s estimated that this move will render around 2.6 million children ineligible for the $2,200 credit.
The legislation adjustment impacts the young immigrants safeguarded under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) scheme, who will lose eligibility for Affordable Care Act subsidies. Additionally, other groups of immigrants, including those possessing visas, are now forbidden from procuring insurance through the ACA.
Another hit from this bill is felt in the realm of refugees and asylum winners – often those fleeing life-threatening situations in their home nations. Under the new legislation, these groups are ineligible for social benefit programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and food stamp services. These benefits collectively sum to more than $60 billion.
Further to this, those seeking refuge in the U.S will encounter a $100 application fee, starting from fiscal year 2025. Aside from this, several additional charges are imposed on asylum seekers; these include a $100 annual waiting fee, a $550 yearly work permit renewal cost and a $900 fee for appeal reviews of denials, a price surge from the previous $110.
The bill introduced a new tax on monetary transactions sent to acquaintances in foreign countries, better known as ‘remittances.’ A 1% tax will be levied on these transactions, a fall from the previous proposal of 5% in an earlier bill draft.
Previously, crossing the border without proper documents was regarded as a federal misdemeanor. But under this legislation, undocumented migrants detained by immigration enforcement are compelled to pay a mandatory $5,000 fee. Another $5,000 fee is introduced for immigrants who are expelled at court hearings they do not attend.
The government is expected to expound guidelines on payment timelines within a short period. If situation arises where immigrants cannot meet these payments as per the timeline, the legislation empowers the government with the ability to level criminal charges for misdemeanor offences.
These expected additions, fines, and fees only magnify an already considerable amount undocumented immigrants contribute to funding American public programs.
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit think tank, published a report in 2022 stating that undocumented immigrants contributed about $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. From this staggering amount, over a third was utilized to fund programs these workers are barred from using.
With the introduction of this new law enacted by the Trump administration, undocumented immigrants find themselves on course to contribute even more significant amounts, either towards services that don’t benefit them or are explicitly designed to target them.
The post Trump Seals Landmark GOP Tax and Funding Reduction Law appeared first on Real News Now.
About Author
