Trump administration orders restriction of tax credits for illegal immigrants after attack on National Guard soldiers

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Friday that President Donald Trump's administration will impose restrictions on illegal immigrants from receiving certain tax credits, following the shooting of two National Guard members serving in Washington D.C. The suspect in the shooting is an Afghan national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal who entered the United States as part of a humanitarian program during the administration of former Democratic President Joe Biden to resettle Afghans.

On his X account, Bessent explained that the Treasury Department will be working hard to be able to ensure that those who are in the U.S. illegally, as well as "other unqualified aliens," do not have the ability to access certain tax credits. "At @POTUS @realDonaldTrump's direction, we are working to cut off federal benefits to illegal aliens and preserve them for U.S. citizens. @USTreasury announced that it will issue proposed regulations clarifying that the refunded portions of certain individual income tax benefits are no longer available to illegal and other non-qualified aliens, covering the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Additional Child Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit, and the Saver’s Match Credit.," Bessent announced.

The rulemaking appears to have been in the works previously, noting that the department has been moving to reclassify certain tax credits as federal public benefits. According to several analysts, the change would mean that many immigrants who already had work authorization in the United States would no longer be able to benefit from these credits despite contributing to the tax system.