Editorial: Why Should Illegal Immigrants Receive Healthcare Benefits While American Citizens Struggle?
ST. LOUIS, MO (STL.News) The debate over immigration in the United States has taken on many faces over the past several decades, but in 2025, it has become even more divided. On one side, President Trump has doubled down on his promise to secure the border, enforce deportations, and ensure that the rule of law is respected. On the other side, Democrats continue to champion policies that extend taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits to people who are not citizens, are not legal residents, and in many cases are here in direct violation of the law.
This is not simply a policy disagreement—it is a moral and financial conflict about what it means to be a nation with borders, sovereignty, and responsibility to its citizens first.
The Role of Government: Citizens First
Government exists for one primary reason: to serve and protect its citizens. That responsibility includes national defense, public safety, and infrastructure, as well as the fair administration of benefits derived from taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars. When Americans pay into the system through payroll deductions, income taxes, and state and local levies, they do so under the assumption that the benefits will be returned to them and their families.
Yet Democrats in several states have pushed aggressively to make healthcare coverage available to illegal immigrants. These policies are framed as compassionate, but they ignore a fundamental reality—illegal immigrants are not citizens. They have not sworn allegiance to this country, they have not followed the lawful path to residency, and they should not be the priority for taxpayer-funded programs.
The Economic Burden on Citizens
America’s healthcare system is already stretched to its limits. Millions of Americans struggle to afford insurance premiums, copays, and deductibles. Many middle-class families earn too much to qualify for subsidies yet too little to afford the rising cost of healthcare comfortably. Seniors face mounting prescription drug expenses, and veterans often find themselves waiting in line at overburdened VA hospitals.
In this context, the idea of extending benefits to non-citizens is not just misguided—it is a direct insult to the hardworking men and women who keep the system afloat. Every dollar that is allocated to covering illegal immigrants is a dollar that cannot be used to reduce costs for citizens, improve services for veterans, or strengthen rural healthcare networks that are collapsing.
Public Health vs. Political Gamesmanship
Democrats defend their approach by arguing that providing healthcare to illegal immigrants is necessary for “public health.” They say untreated conditions can spread, emergency rooms become overwhelmed, and society ultimately pays more when people avoid preventive care.
While there is a grain of truth in this, it is also a political maneuver. Emergency rooms in America are already required by law to treat anyone who walks in, regardless of their immigration status. The safety net is there for genuine emergencies. What Democrats propose goes far beyond emergency care; they want full-scope, taxpayer-funded benefits.
This isn’t about health, it’s about politics. It’s about signaling compassion to immigrant communities in hopes of securing long-term political loyalty, regardless of whether those individuals are here legally.
The Message to the World: America Is Open
When states or cities extend benefits to illegal immigrants, they send a powerful message that undermines federal immigration enforcement. That message is simple: cross the border, make it into a sanctuary city or state, and not only will you avoid deportation, you will also receive free or subsidized benefits.
This becomes a magnet for unlawful immigration. Word spreads quickly, not just across Mexico but throughout Central and South America, and even as far away as Asia and Africa. Smugglers and traffickers exploit the message, convincing desperate people to pay thousands of dollars to be guided into the United States. Many arrive with false expectations, but the fact remains that state policies that reward illegal status encourage more of it.
The President’s Approach: Law and Order
President Trump has made it clear that immigration must be legal, orderly, and controlled. Deportations have increased under his leadership, and he has urged Congress to pass legislation tightening loopholes that have plagued the system for years. Critics accuse him of cruelty, but his policy stance is rooted in a simple principle: a nation without borders is not a nation.
The President is not opposed to immigration—he has often praised those who come to America legally, work hard, and contribute to the country. But he has also emphasized that line-jumpers who disregard the law should not be rewarded. Extending healthcare benefits to people in the country illegally directly undermines this principle.
The Moral Question
At its core, the issue is not only financial but also moral. Should a struggling American family that can barely pay their own insurance premiums be forced to subsidize healthcare for someone who entered the country illegally? Should veterans who fought for this country wait in line while state budgets are diverted to cover non-citizens?
The Democratic Party seems to answer “yes.” Their vision of compassion ignores fairness. Genuine compassion should begin with our own citizens—the elderly, the disabled, the veterans, the children, and the working families. Anything less is an abdication of responsibility.
States vs. Federal Authority
One of the most alarming aspects of this debate is the way Democratic-led states openly defy federal priorities. While the federal government is deporting individuals, states are actively inviting them to stay, offering them benefits in return. This clash creates confusion, division, and undermines national unity.
Healthcare is not cheap. When states foot the bill for illegal immigrants, they are forced to either raise taxes, cut services elsewhere, or accumulate debt. Citizens pay the price one way or another, even if politicians disguise the numbers in budgets.
The Slippery Slope
If healthcare for illegal immigrants becomes normalized, where does it end? Housing assistance? Tuition grants? Retirement benefits? The logic of extending taxpayer-funded benefits to those who are not legally part of the American community sets a dangerous precedent.
Once the principle is broken—that benefits are for citizens first—there is no limit to what can be demanded. Every expansion becomes harder to roll back, and the burden on taxpayers grows heavier with each passing year.
The Democratic Party’s Political Gamble
The Democratic Party is making a calculated gamble. They believe that by framing these policies as compassionate, they will appeal to younger voters and immigrant-friendly constituencies. They are betting that Americans will tolerate higher taxes and fewer resources for themselves in exchange for policies that appear morally generous.
But this gamble risks alienating the very middle-class base that has historically sustained America’s prosperity. The middle class is shrinking, wages are stagnant, and inflation continues to erode buying power. Adding another layer of financial burden in the form of benefits for non-citizens could be the tipping point for millions of disillusioned voters.
What Should Be Done Instead
Instead of extending benefits to illegal immigrants, Democrats should focus on:
- Securing the border to reduce illegal entry.
- Streamlining legal immigration so those who want to contribute can do so lawfully.
- Improving healthcare access for citizens, especially veterans, seniors, and working families.
- Reducing costs through competition, price transparency, and innovation, rather than expanding taxpayer obligations.
These solutions would serve citizens first, uphold the rule of law, and strengthen national unity.
Conclusion: A Question of Priorities
The healthcare debate is not just about budgets and coverage; it is also about access to care. It is about priorities. Should America prioritize its citizens, or should it dilute its resources in the name of global compassion?
The Democratic Party has made its choice clear, but its policies are out of touch with the realities faced by millions of Americans who struggle every day. Extending healthcare benefits to illegal immigrants while citizens are burdened with rising costs is not compassion—it is negligence.
President Trump’s insistence on deportation and law enforcement is not cruelty—it is fairness. It is a recognition that citizenship matters, that the rule of law matters, and that the resources of this country belong first and foremost to its citizens.
If Democrats continue down this path, they risk alienating the very people they claim to represent. The American people should not stand by while their leaders prioritize non-citizens over citizens. Healthcare, like every other benefit, must remain a privilege of citizenship, not a reward for breaking the law.
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