Presidential Cabinet Votes to Reject the Executive Order “Immigration Infrastructure Act”

After heavy debate, the Presidential Cabinet rejected the Immigration Infrastructure Act (IIA) in a 9-15 majority. The Act would have created healthcare facilities for access by immigrants along the US border, as well as expanded funding for cities with high immigrant populations.

The bill was heavily criticized during debate for its provision allowing access to free healthcare to immigrants. One critic, the Secretary of Energy, expressed his concerns that IIA would create a “flood of immigrants” seeking free healthcare along the US border. The Secretary of Education corroborated this fear, stating that these healthcare facilities would be overrun by immigrants, and the bill’s funding sources would be too limited to cover the demand seen at these centers.

During their presentation, the executive order’s authors had expressed hope that the IIA, if passed, would secure the “human right” of housing to all people, including immigrants. In an interview preceding the vote on IIA, one of its authors, Presidential Science Advisor Eric Lander stated his hope that IIA would increase the quality of life for immigrants, as well as help the U.S. economy by encouraging immigrants to find “stable footing and get themselves off the ground.”

Ultimately, the cabinet’s concerns of the Act’s “hypocrisy” in providing free healthcare to immigrants but not US citizens, as well as a lack of funding, overpowered the arguments in favor of the bill.

In an interview after the vote, one of IIA’s authors, the Secretary of Veteran Affairs, reflected on the decision. Secretary McDonough expressed his belief that opposition to IIA came largely from misunderstanding of the bill’s specifics, explaining that the healthcare centers would be “more so a one time thing” for immigrants experiencing health emergencies. Reflecting on the act’s failure, McDonough stated his hope that future legislation can target similar infrastructure with more specificity.

This article was written by Mary Claire McGreivey.