Illinois taxpayers have paid illegal immigrants $1.6 billion since 2020, according to a new state audit released this week at the request of GOP lawmakers.
The audit also found that state money is often spent on people who are actually US citizens or otherwise qualified for the federal program.
“This audit shows that the governor had ramped up over expenditures. It spent well over 200% of what was estimated in the budget or budget.”
“And it also showed that the governor couldn't manage the program,” he said. “Thousands of people have been allowed to sign up for years to free healthcare to state taxpayer Dime, who should not qualify under the parameters laid out for this program. The governor could not even ask for a federal rebate if he was eligible for a particular service for years.”
Green Cardholders post-cost increase to reduce state-funded healthcare for Illinois Illinois immigrants
A new audit shows Illinois' taxpayer funds of $1.6 billion were awarded to a healthcare program for illegal immigration under the Pretzker administration. Shown here are Gov. JB Pritzker, left, and Senate Republican leader John Curran. (Getty Images | Fox News Digital)
Illinois Auditor General Frank J. Mautino has flagged more than 6,000 people listed as “undocumented” in the program, but could be a legal permanent resident with a Social Security number and in fact qualified for Medicaid. The state has reviewed 94 cases and found that 19 should be classified as legal resident in place of non-citizens.
There were also nearly 700 people in the senior health program under the age of 65. The review confirmed that many of the errors were due to incorrect dates of birth and were later corrected.
The audit also found that about 400 subscribers appeared to have been in the country for over five years and should have been eligible for Medicaid. The state has admitted that some of those people were misregistered. The report recommended that the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services seek a federal refund for lost funds.
Illinois Healthcare Program for Non-Citizens, including Illegal Immigrants, ranges from Balloon to $1.1 billion
ICE agents arrest illegal immigrants during a raid on labor operations. (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency)
The auditor's report, which Curran called “gross non-control” at a press conference, was released just a week after Pretzker proposed cutting funding for programs that provide Medicaid-like compensation for illegal immigrants under the age of 65 or legal immigrants without green cards. The proposed cuts, which are expected to save $330 million, were a key part of Pritzker's strategy to address a budget shortage of over $3 billion.
“The governor has been repeating this massive spending over the past few years, and instead of trying to really curb this massive spending and spending in Illinois, he has been playing a competitive relief fund that is being spent on it,” Curran said. “Now, the federal dollar has tapered, and this year there is a massive budget deficit in Illinois, and the governor is now forced to try and finish all working adults programs.”
“We can't afford this,” Curran continued. “Illinois states, state taxpayers should not be burdened with providing free healthcare, especially for a working-age population (particularly); we want to end the people who should be working to pay taxes and get healthcare in the market, as is the case with Illinois taxpayers.”
As of December, 41,505 people had been enrolled in two programs. This is part of the health benefits of the immigrant adult program, which Pritzker proposed to cut from July 1st.
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Immigrants and customs enforcement officials are shown during the Chicago attack. (Bloomberg via Christopher Dilt/Getty Images)
Despite Pretzker's plans to cut funding for healthcare programs, he said at a press conference Wednesday that he supports some kind of universal health insurance.
He said, “Anyway, there are some proof that there are awful lot of people who have no access to it and that they need to do something to get it, and I think that's a sad situation in our society.”
“From day one, Pretzker has taken a hostile approach to President Donald Trump and his administration, which really focuses on Illinois and the city of Chicago.”
“What we want to see is a more supportive tone,” he said.
Hundreds of illegal immigrants in Chicago, considered sanctuary cities, have been detained by US customs and immigration enforcement since Trump took office.
Both Pretzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed in January to protect residents regardless of their immigration status, beating Trump's massive deportation move.
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Pritzker's office did not respond to requests for comment due to public deadlines.
