5 Ways the House Bill Punishes Immigrant Families and Why It Matters

By Elket Rodriguez

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) is a budget reconciliation bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a 215 to 214 vote on May 22, 2025. The bill is likely to change substantively as it moves to the Senate and subsequently returns to the House for final passage. Here are five concerning things about the bill regarding immigration:

1.Punishing U.S. Citizen Children

This bill strips nearly 4.5 million U.S. citizen children —yes, citizens— of the Child Tax Credit simply because their parents don’t have a Social Security number, even if their parents contribute to the government coffers by paying taxes through a tax identification number.

2. Making Families Pay to Stay Together

Want to sponsor a child who came here alone? The bill says: cough up $3,500 upfront and another possible $5,000 just to bring them home. These sky-high costs are designed to keep people from stepping up to care for kids—so the government can keep children locked in custody longer. That's family separation with a price tag.

3. Legalizing Family Separation—by Detaining Parents and Kids Together

The bill sets aside $20 million to allegedly “promote family unity” by detaining parents and children together. That’s not family unity—that’s just joint incarceration. We’ve seen this before. The idea is to criminalize desperate families who cross the border and keep them locked up, not cared for.

4. Expanding Indefinite Detention for Kids and Families

This bill doesn’t just grow ICE, it supercharges it. $75 billion to expand enforcement and $45 billion of that just for more immigration jails. That’s 13 times what ICE already has. It’s a full-scale investment in locking up immigrants, including children, for longer and with fewer protections. And that's on top of $69 billion more for the border wall.

5. Charging Asylum Seekers to Ask for Help

The bill hits asylum seekers with a $1,000 fee just to apply and $550 every six months just to work while they wait. These are people fleeing violence, persecution, and death. Now, we’re charging them thousands just to survive. It's like telling someone in a burning house to pay before calling 911.

If you want more information on the immigration provisions included into this bill and how it could impact families, workers, and communities, check out the National Immigration Forum’s breakdown here: One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Immigration Provisions.