President Donald Trump is about to sign an executive order blocking federal funding for undocumented migrants.
According to Bloomberg reports, the incoming executive order directs federal departments and agencies to identify federal programs providing financial assistance to illegal immigrants. The order also prohibits cities and states from using federal money for programs that could assist migrants and calls for improvements in verifying eligibility for benefits.
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While undocumented migrants are already ineligible for most government benefits like federal food assistance payments, and welfare benefits, the curbing of illegal immigration has been one of the foremost issues on Trump’s agenda, and this seems like the latest in a set of measures for that end.
Crackdowns against illegal immigrants, which included 18,000 Indians, have escalated ever since Trump took office in January 2025. He started his second term as president with a series of executive orders which included declaring a national emergency at the U.S. southern border, immediately ending use of a border app called CBP One that had allowed migrants to legally enter the United States, and kicking off the process to end birthright citizenship, which was met with legal resistance when a federal district judge temporarily blocked the order on constitutional grounds. Deportations have also been conducted on a large scale.
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Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who is the face of the Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE), has targeted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for sending payments to New York City to house migrants, saying it defied the president’s immigration policies. FEMA terminated its chief financial officer and three other employees involved in the payments for migrant accommodations.
Many local governments and nonprofits receive federal reimbursements for feeding and housing migrants. Trump has called for abolishing FEMA, claiming the agency had diverted disaster relief funds to house undocumented migrants. This claim has not been substantiated.