“The American taxpayer is being robbed in broad daylight,” Texas Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt said as he urged Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to widen her crackdown on illegal alien abuse of federal food assistance programs.
In an exclusive letter to Rollins obtained by Breitbart News in advance of its release, Hunt praised the agriculture secretary’s efforts to expose “massive fraud in the SNAP system” while calling for additional steps to confront what he described as an “immense waste of taxpayer dollars.”
“It is of utmost importance that the American people are provided this data and that we respond to it accordingly in such a manner that puts the American people first, not last,” the letter reads. “My district is grateful that your office has already uncovered massive fraud in the SNAP system, exposing the truth we already knew — American taxpayers are being taken advantage of by the current status quo.”
Hunt cites a Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) analysis showing that nearly 60 percent of households headed by illegal aliens rely on at least one major welfare program, with 48 percent participating in SNAP, WIC, or school meal programs.
He also references a recent article in the Dallas Express titled “Illegal Alien Households Top SNAP Usage as Shutdown Threatens Food Aid,” which describes how Texas food banks are bracing for surging demand as SNAP funding hangs in legal limbo.
The push comes amid a historic government shutdown now in its sixth week, which has forced the USDA to rely on contingency funds to keep food-aid payments flowing.
Fraud reviews are continuing as Rollins’s department works to tighten oversight and recover taxpayer losses.
Rollins has been public about what her team is finding and the standards she is reimposing.
During a Fox News appearance last Sunday, which Hunt cited in his letter, the agriculture secretary said her department began auditing SNAP records on day one of the Trump administration, sending letters to every governor making clear that “no illegal aliens can use SNAP — zero.”
She said the explosion of benefits “happened under Joe Biden,” rising nearly 40 percent in just two years, and accused the former administration of attempting to “buy the election.”
Rollins added that her review of roughly $100 billion in spending uncovered “thousands and thousands of illegal uses of the EBT card,” with nearly 700,000 people removed from SNAP, 118 arrests, one individual drawing benefits in six states, and about 5,000 deceased recipients still collecting payments.
Hunt wrote that these findings underscore the need for full transparency and accountability, urging Rollins to compel remaining states to submit their data and restore oversight “to a system that has been abused for far too long.”
The Texas Republican — an Iraq War veteran now running for the U.S. Senate — has made combating welfare abuse by illegal aliens a prominent part of his America First agenda, aligning his legislative push with President Donald Trump’s broader effort to protect taxpayers.
“President Trump was given a mandate to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse so that Americans who contribute to our economy are not supporting those who enter our country illegally by using SNAP and other welfare programs intended for Americans only,” Hunt wrote. “I commend you for your efforts to expose this injustice. But what we cannot do now is stop here. We must take steps to address this immense waste of taxpayer dollars and pave a new way forward for our country — for the sake of our children and grandchildren.”
He noted that 29 states have already turned over their SNAP data to the USDA and said his office looks forward to updates on the missing states. “Americans deserve to know where their tax dollars are going,” he wrote. “Your office is not only bringing awareness to fraud in our federal assistance programs, but you are also helping us clean and update our benefits rolls so we can be responsible stewards of taxpayer money.”
In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News accompanying the letter, Hunt delivered a sharp rebuke of Democratic welfare policy.
He charged that “the American taxpayer is being robbed in broad daylight, and the Democrat Party isn’t just allowing it — they’re enabling it,” emphasizing that “nearly half of all households headed by illegal aliens are now using SNAP, WIC, or school-meal programs.”
He argued that “America’s safety net was built for Americans, not criminal illegal aliens,” and he accused Democrats of “turning their backs on working Americans while funding illegal immigrants’ stay with YOUR tax dollars.”
He warned that “if we don’t shut the door on welfare for illegal immigrants, we are incentivizing millions more to come,” adding that Democrats “defend this because it creates a dependent voting bloc for their political future.”
He called the moment defining: “We either continue funding our nation’s decline — or we put Americans first again.”
He closed simply: “I choose America.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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