FACT-CHECK: Yes, US taxpayers fund health care for illegal aliens

Democrat lawmakers have rejected Republican attempts to keep the government open amid a looming shutdown, demanding an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller slammed Democrats for refusing to support a "clean, routine government funding bill because it doesn't give free healthcare to illegals."

'The approximately $66.4 billion in federal expenditures attributable to illegal aliens is staggering, and constitutes an increase of 45 percent since 2017.'

Neera Tanden, the former domestic policy adviser under the Biden administration, accused Miller of pushing a "total and complete fabrication."

"This is a lie. It is a violation of law for the ACA premium tax credits to go to illegal aliens," Tanden wrote in a post on X.

ACA's eligibility standards require an individual to be a U.S. citizen or a lawfully present noncitizen, which can include asylum-seekers, refugees, and those granted employment authorization. The Biden administration relaxed criteria for various categories of immigration status, allowing more foreign nationals who were previously considered unlawfully present to qualify for status that may be eligible for ACA tax credits.

Additionally, multiple studies have uncovered that federal tax dollars do reach illegal aliens through the health care system.

RELATED: Democratic governor hands tax dollars to illegal aliens for college tuition while state drowns in debt

Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The Congressional Budget Office found in October 2024 that the Biden administration had cost state and federal taxpayers $16.2 billion to cover Medicaid emergency services for illegal aliens since taking office.

Paul Winfree, president and CEO of the Economic Policy Innovation Center, told Fox News Digital in March that California has been "exploiting an existing loophole within law" to use billions of dollars in reimbursements from the federal government to provide illegal immigrants with Medicaid.

"Medicaid spending is supposed to be jointly financed by the federal government and states. However, states are increasingly designing Medicaid money-laundering schemes that result in massive federal expenditures without any state financial obligation," an EPIC report claimed. "The state of California, colluding with insurance companies who cover Medicaid beneficiaries, has created one of the most outrageous ones yet, a money-laundering scheme that results in California obtaining more than $19 billion in federal money without any state contribution over the period from April 2023 through December 2026."

California's Department of Healthcare Services claimed EPIC’s report was “misleading.”

RELATED: Did your state just sue the Trump administration to keep benefits flowing to illegal aliens? Here's the list.

Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A 2023 study from the Federation for American Immigration Reform found $66.4 billion in federal expenditures on illegal aliens, including $23.1 billion in medical spending.

"The approximately $66.4 billion in federal expenditures attributable to illegal aliens is staggering and constitutes an increase of 45 percent since 2017. This amounts to roughly $3,187 per illegal alien, per year," FAIR reported.

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