From DC: $71B Immigration Enforcement Package, DHS Public Benefits Proposal, New Medicaid HCBS State Tracker, and more!

May 15, 2026

From DC is Justice in Aging's weekly roundup of national news and resources about issues impacting older adults. To receive From DC in your inbox as soon as its published, sign up for our mailing list.

Here’s what we’re watching in Washington:

Congress Prepares to Vote on Additional $71 Billion for Immigration Enforcement

Members of Congress are preparing to vote on an additional $71 billion in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and harmful amendments proposed in the 2026 budget reconciliation.

Over the past year and a half, older adults and people with disabilities have been harmed by the administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement. In February, Justice in Aging led national and state aging advocates and allies in sending a letter to Congress articulating the harms to older adults, especially older immigrants, and urging them instead to restore funding for health care and other programs that help all of us meet our needs as we age.

We have updated our letter for the 2026 budget reconciliation and welcome additional organizations to sign-on. Read the updated letter and complete the form to join.

Sign-ons are accepted until Tuesday, May 19, 2026. For more on issues facing older immigrants, check out our webinar series from last year.

DHS’s Proposed Public Benefits Question Will Impact Public Charge and Harm Older Immigrants

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a notice of a proposal to change the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (USCIS’s) change of address form. The proposal would add questions about an individual’s use of public benefits and require reporting of work and school addresses.

If implemented, this information would be used to enforce the public charge grounds for deportation. Under immigration law, certain immigrants who become a public charge—i.e., use public benefits in certain circumstances—within 5 years of entry into the U.S. are deportable.

The information collected on USCIS’s form may also be used to identify individuals accessing public benefits who are ineligible, and to coordinate with other agencies to enforce eligibility restrictions.

This proposed change is the administration’s latest effort to use the public charge test to target immigrant communities, which began in 2025 with proposed public charge regulations that would significantly harm older immigrants and others.

Justice in Aging's comments detailed the harms of that proposal for older adults and how it would chill access to programs and services. Justice in Aging will work with partners to oppose USCIS’s proposal.

Public comments on the proposal are due on July 6, 2026.

New Tool to Track State Changes to Medicaid HCBS

This year, state legislatures have grappled with addressing the new budget constraints imposed by the Budget Reconciliation Act of 2025 (H.R. 1), which cut nearly $1 trillion in federal Medicaid funding.

Many state budget proposals included cuts to Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS), adult dental benefits, and other programs low-income older adults rely on to stay healthy and live in their own homes as they age.

Recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) actions targeting HCBS funding are putting these programs at even more risk of cuts.

Researchers have created a new Home and Community Based Services Impacts Tracker to monitor state-level HCBS policy changes that are proposed or implemented. This tool helps identify state advocacy opportunities and will measure the impacts of cuts and other changes on older adults and people with disabilities. National, state, and local organizations working on HCBS can submit updates to the tracker.

Watch our Protect Medicaid: State Revenue for Advocates webinar with Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and West Virginia Center on Budget, and use our Medicaid defense resources to take action.