Access to Essential Benefits and Post-Arrival Support for Newly Arrived Refugees and Other Humanitarian Entrants

What benefits are available to immigrants and refugees?

Extreme policy shifts under the Trump administration’s policy agenda — anchored in H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” and reinforced through FY26–FY27 appropriations bills — have reshaped the federal benefits and post‑arrival support landscape for refugees and other lawfully admitted humanitarian entrants. These changes dismantle long‑standing bipartisan commitments to stabilization, early integration, and lawful access to safety‑net programs.

Loss of Federal Benefits: SNAP, Medicaid, and Related Supports

Through H.R. 1, Congress eliminated SNAP eligibility for most refugees, asylees, parolees, trafficking survivors, and other lawfully present immigrants. The bill removes access that historically began immediately upon arrival and cuts nearly $187 billion from the program — the largest reduction in SNAP’s history.

The law also revokes refugee access to Medicaid, with cuts projected to push more than 10 million people off coverage over the next decade. For newly arrived families, this means the loss of essential medical coverage during the most vulnerable period of resettlement.

Congress’s actions through appropriations bills have further constrained resources for refugee services, reducing funding for programs that historically provided time-limited but critical assistance, including medical support, employment services, and case management through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). These reductions compound the loss of safety net benefits and leave local communities struggling to try and help.

Processing Delays, Pauses, and Backlogs — A Second Layer of Harm

Alongside benefit cuts, the administration’s suspension and restructuring of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), new re‑vetting procedures, and expanded enforcement authorities have produced severe processing delays, pauses, and backlogs across immigration benefits.

These delays directly undermine access to federal supports:

• Work authorization lapses leave refugees and humanitarian entrants unable to maintain employment or qualify for employer linked health coverage.

• Green card and adjustment of status backlogs prolong legal limbo, delaying access to certain federal programs tied to permanent residency.

• Case processing pauses prevent families from renewing documentation required to access benefits, enroll children in services, or verify eligibility with state agencies.

• Communication gaps between DHS, USCIS, and benefit granting agencies lead to wrongful terminations of benefits and inconsistent guidance to families.

Even individuals who remain legally eligible for certain supports face practical barriers: expired documents, inability to prove status, or months long waits for routine adjudications. The result is a system where processing dysfunction becomes a de facto denial of benefits, compounding the statutory cuts enacted by Congress, and leaving families to suffer from bureaucratic delays.

Impact on Refugees, Parolees, and Other Humanitarian Entrants

For many recently arrived families seeking shelter in the United States from violence, persecution, and oppression in their home countries — including refugees from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Burma, the DRC, Syria, and others — the combined effect of benefit cuts and processing delays is profound:

• Loss of food assistance

• Loss of health coverage

• Increased risk of homelessness and poverty

• Reduced access to employment services and case management

• Prolonged legal uncertainty

• Greater strain on faith based and nonprofit partners already operating with diminished federal support

Global Refuge advocates to protect refugees and humanitarian entrants from the harms of federal benefit cuts, processing delays, and shrinking resettlement resources. We work with Congress to defend access to food and health assistance, restore critical supports, and ensure newcomers can maintain the documentation and legal status needed to secure the services they are entitled to. Our commitment is to safeguard families’ stability and uphold America’s humanitarian values.