Exclusive: Sen. Tom Cotton Unveils Bill to Kick Noncitizens Off Welfare, Expedite Deportations



by Olivia Rondeau 3 Dec 2025

A bill to end federal benefits including Medicaid, housing assistance, student financial aid, and food stamps for noncitizens has been introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) in an effort to “put American citizens first,” Breitbart News has learned.

The proposal was released on Wednesday morning, with the third-ranking Senate Republican writing in an authorization to denaturalize naturalized citizens who “undermine domestic tranquility” by participating in unlawful protests involving violence or property destruction, and to “expand expedited removal authority.”

Cotton’s bill also addresses concerns regarding Afghan nationals living in the U.S. after it was determined that the suspected shooter who attacked two members of the National Guard last week came from Afghanistan under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program.

Download this PDF

MCC25E60 by jmanship

Document at link.

If passed, the legislation would require “mandatory revetting of nationals of Afghanistan” as well as “provide for automatic termination of temporary protected status,” or TPS.

The Trump administration has been working to end TPS for migrants from countries including Burma, Somalia, Venezuela, and others.

An appeals court temporarily blocked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from ending TPS for Afghan migrants in July, but that order expired and allowed for the program’s termination.

As Breitbart News’s John Binder explained:

TPS was first created under the Immigration Act of 1990 and prevents federal immigration officials from deporting migrants who are designated as experiencing famine, war, or natural disasters.

Since the Clinton administration, TPS has been transformed into a de facto amnesty program, as the Clinton, Bush, Obama, first Trump term, and Biden administrations continuously renewed the program for a variety of countries.

Cotton’s legislation would require automatic termination of TPS for nationals of any designated country upon a finding by DHS that conditions in that country no longer warrant protection, or if crime rates among such nationals exceed the national average by 20 percent.

That would apply retroactively to designations made after President Donald Trump re-entered office in January, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Venezuela, and Somalia.

“Hardworking Arkansans should not be forced to support non-U.S. citizens on federal programs. My bill will put American citizens first,” Cotton told Breitbart News in an exclusive statement.

https://www.breitbart.com/immigratio...-deportations/