As the federal government faced a potential shutdown on Oct. 1, 2025, President Donald Trump and top Republican leaders started accusing Democrats of something that is not true.
They claimed that Democrats were demanding free healthcare for “illegal aliens” as a condition for supporting the federal funding bill. Trump wrote on Truth Social that “The Democrats want Illegal Aliens, many of them VIOLENT CRIMINALS, to receive FREE Healthcare.” Vice President JD Vance said the same thing on social media.
But these claims are false. People in the country without legal status cannot get federally funded health insurance. They are not allowed to enroll in Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The real fight is about Democrats trying to bring back health coverage for “lawfully present” authorized immigrants. This group includes green card holders, asylum recipients, and refugees. These people lost their eligibility under Trump’s spending bill that he signed in July 2025.
According to ABC News, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the Republican claims were completely wrong. “Of course not,” Jeffries said in a CNBC interview. “And thank you for asking that question, because this is also an outright lie.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also pushed back. He posted on social media that “Not a single federal dollar goes to providing health insurance for undocumented immigrants. NOT. ONE. PENNY.”
What Democrats actually want in the spending negotiations
The real problem is about enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that will expire at the end of 2025. Democrats want any short-term deal to keep the government open to include an extension of these subsidies. These have helped millions of Americans afford health insurance since 2021. According to KFF, if these credits go away, the cost of health insurance for people enrolled would more than double on average.
Donald Trump and JD Vance are lying that Democrats are pushing for free healthcare for illegal aliens. "Probably likely [sic] [Democrats want to give free healthcare to illegal immigrants" is a lie.
— Laurence (Larry) Boorstein (@LarryBoorstein) September 30, 2025
"The Democrats want Illegal Aliens, many of them VIOLENT CRIMINALS, to receive… https://t.co/LNiuJmjp5L
Democrats also want to reverse cuts to Medicaid that were part of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This law created the first-ever work requirement in Medicaid. It also stopped legal immigrants from getting access to the program. These changes are expected to lead to about 10 million more people being uninsured by 2034. This is not the first time Vice President JD Vance has been caught spreading false information. The Congressional Budget Office said that $131 billion could be saved by limiting which lawful immigrants can access Medicaid and CHIP.
Democrats are about to shutdown the government because they demand we fund healthcare for illegal aliens.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 25, 2025
The Democratic proposal would bring back healthcare access to lawfully present authorized migrants who used to qualify for these programs. This includes refugees, asylum seekers, and those with Temporary Protected Status. Federal law clearly says that undocumented immigrants cannot get these benefits.
“Federal law prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars to provide medical coverage to undocumented individuals,” Jeffries said. “That’s the law, and there is nothing in anything that we have proposed that is trying to change that law.” The pattern of the Trump administration making false claims has become a regular part of how they do politics. Republicans keep using misleading statements to shape policy debates in ways that favor them.
