Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt is demanding data from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul over how many of the state’s estimated 670,000 illegal immigrants are receiving access to Medicaid benefits
Hunt (R-Texas) blasted out a missive to Hochul on Monday, raising questions about how the Empire State has leveraged waivers to allow its Medicaid program to operate differently from federal standards.
“Governor Hochul is required to report this information to the federal government. So the question is simple: Will she comply, or continue to harbor lawbreakers while putting the health care of law-abiding citizens at risk?” Hunt said in a statement to The Post.
“This is what Democrat leadership looks like: open borders, benefits for illegal aliens, and betrayal of the American people.”
An estimated 1.4 million people “whose citizenship, nationality, or satisfactory immigration status is not
verified” are potentially being covered by Medicaid programs in various states, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate.
One study from the liberal-leaning Fiscal Policy Institute cited by Hunt found that there are some 670,000 illegal immigrants in the Empire State — about 4% of its population.
New York has benefited from Section 1115 waivers, which allow it to experiment and deviate from federal standards in its implementation of Medicaid, a program that provides health insurance to 70 million low-income Americans.
Nicolette Simmonds, a spokesperson for the governor, quickly fired back at Hunt and argued that he should’ve focused on opposing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act over its Medicaid reforms instead of targeting New York.
“If Rep. Hunt were truly concerned about the health and wellbeing of his constituents, he should’ve directed his focus to voting against the Big Ugly Bill, which will invoke irreparable damage to Medicaid programs nationwide, including his home state of Texas,” the spokesperson told The Post.
“This is just another pitiful attempt to divert attention from Republican actions to eliminate healthcare for 1.5 million New Yorkers and deny food security access to millions of seniors and children.”
State officials told The Post that “most undocumented individuals are not eligible for full Medicaid coverage” and that the small group that is enrolled in the state’s program has not benefited from federal dollars. They also claimed that spending was unrelated to the 1115 waivers.
Hunt noted that the Biden administration had rejected the use of those waivers for states like South Carolina, Arizona, and elsewhere. The Texas Republican stressed that the waivers were not intended to allow illegal immigrants to benefit.
“The Biden Administration allowed, and even encouraged, the use of these 1115 waivers to extend Medicaid to undocumented immigrants, despite federal law prohibiting them from receiving such benefits,” Hunt wrote in his Monday letter to Hochul.
Back in February, President Trump signed an executive order directing his administration to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that “no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.”
That order pointed to existing law, such as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which generally blocks illegal immigrants from getting federal benefits from the taxpayers.
The Texas Republican also cited concerns about New York’s Green Light Law, which permits all state residents, regardless of immigration status, to get driver’s licenses.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against that law, arguing it hamstrings federal enforcement of immigration law. Hunt argued it could help illegal immigrants get access to taxpayer-funded benefits.
To address these concerns, Hunt demanded that Hochul conduct a review of its Medicaid enrollment based on Social Security numbers and release those findings to the public.
“New Yorkers deserve transparency, accountability, and adherence to the law in the administration of public health programs,” Hunt argued in his letter to Hochul.
“Policies that divert limited resources away from lawful recipients not only violate federal standards—-they destroy public trust and threaten the sustainability of programs designed to serve our most vulnerable citizens.”
Hunt has drawn speculation over recent weeks that he may vie for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) seat in the 2026 midterm cycle.
