Bessent Moves To Cut Off Illegal Migrants From US Financial System

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed this week that the Trump administration is preparing a sweeping crackdown to block illegal immigrants from accessing federal tax benefits and financial transfer systems — a major policy shift designed to protect taxpayers and shut down abuse within the nation’s financial infrastructure.

Bessent said the Treasury Department is finalizing regulations that will “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.”

“At [President Trump’s] direction, we are working to cut off federal benefits to illegal aliens and preserve them for U.S. citizens,” Bessent wrote on X, underscoring the administration’s priority of tightening eligibility across the tax code.

Federal law already bars most undocumented immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded benefits under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). But as President Trump noted in a February executive order reaffirming the statute, “numerous administrations have acted to undermine the principles and limitations directed by the Congress” over the past three decades.

Treasury’s forthcoming rule would explicitly categorize federal tax credits and refunds as “federal public benefits” under PRWORA’s statutory definition. According to the department, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel “recently issued an opinion adopting this interpretation.” The final regulations are expected to take effect beginning with the 2026 tax year, The Post reported.

Bessent also highlighted the financial risks posed by illegal migrants who exploit U.S. banks and electronic payment systems, saying many “use our financial institutions to move their illicitly obtained funds.” He described the practice as “exploitation” and vowed: “It will end.”

“[President Trump] is right — if you’re here illegally, there’s no place for you in our financial system,” Bessent declared.

The timing of his post aligned with a new alert from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which warned money services businesses — including remittance firms, check cashers, and digital payment platforms — to remain “vigilant in identifying suspicious financial activity involving illegal aliens who present significant threats to national security and public safety.”

FinCEN noted that MSBs must file suspicious activity reports (SARs) for transactions of $2,000 or more and could violate federal law by facilitating “a cross-border transfer of funds derived from unlawful employment or otherwise derived from funds the MSB knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect were illicitly obtained in the United States.”

The warning came as City Journal reported that millions in Minnesota taxpayer dollars stolen through sprawling welfare fraud operations may have been funneled to the Somalia-based Islamist terror organization al-Shabab. According to the outlet — citing former state fraud investigators, legislators, and federal counterterrorism officials — many of those charged in the schemes are Somali or Somali American, and funds often reach al-Shabab when individuals send illicit proceeds back to Somalia, sometimes unintentionally.

President Trump responded Thursday with a sweeping new immigration pledge after two National Guard members were shot in Washington, D.C. He announced that he will implement a temporary halt on immigration from “third world countries” and pursue the broadest reversal of Biden-era migration in U.S. history.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote that although the nation has made enormous technological gains, “Immigration Policy has eroded those gains and living conditions for many,” as reported by RedState.

He vowed to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”

Trump added that his broader objective includes “achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorized and illegal Autopen approval process” and emphasized that “Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation.”