ANNAPOLIS, MD – Today, FWD.us released new polling and a new report, “Cutting Health Care, Supercharging ICE,” detailing how federal budget decisions cut hundreds of billions of dollars from health care, food assistance and other programs while dramatically increasing spending on immigration enforcement are impacting families and communities across Maryland. 

One year ago, Republicans in Congress passed President Trump’s signature budget legislation, cutting $1 trillion from health care. Between that bill and the spending bills since, they have funneled a quarter trillion dollars for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to terrorize communities. The new FWD.us report shows that Maryland is among the states facing significant consequences of these decisions, with an estimated $1.9 billion in federal funding projected to be lost by 2029 as a result of changes to Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, even after offset funds from the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). 

Among the report’s key findings for Maryland: 

• 32,000 more Marylanders are projected to become uninsured because of the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. 
• Over 38,600 fewer Marylanders are receiving SNAP food assistance, while over 60,600 fewer people are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP compared with 2025. 
• Five hospitals and medical facilities have closed or are closing, and Maryland is projected to lose 7,600 health care jobs as a result of changes to the ACA and Medicaid, even after the creation of the RHTP.
• The Trump Administration has terminated $7.4 million in Department of Justice grant funding for community safety and violence intervention in Maryland. 
• At the same time, DHS has spent more than $102 million to expand ICE detention capacity in Maryland. Over 9,000 immigrants have been arrested across the state since January 20, 2025. 

Read the Maryland fact sheet here. 

The new polling commissioned by FWD.us shows voters strongly question these spending priorities. In a July national survey of likely voters, 60 percent said spending hundreds of billions of dollars on immigration enforcement while cutting funding for health care is unacceptable, compared with 28 percent who said immigration enforcement should be funded even if it requires cuts elsewhere.

Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us, said: “Maryland families are facing cuts to health coverage and food assistance, hospitals are closing, and thousands of health care jobs are at risk, while the federal government spends more than $100 million to expand immigration detention capacity in the state. These are choices about where taxpayer dollars go and whose needs come first. Marylanders deserve investments that make health care and basic necessities more affordable and strengthen communities across the state.”

Felicity Rose, Vice President of Research and Policy at FWD.us and author of the report, said: “The impact of these federal funding decisions in Maryland is substantial: the state is projected to lose $1.9 billion in federal funding, 60,600 fewer people are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP than a year ago, and 7,600 health care jobs are projected to disappear. Meanwhile, DHS has spent more than $102 million to expand immigration detention capacity in Maryland. And many of the most significant cuts to Medicaid and SNAP have yet to take effect, meaning the consequences for Maryland families could grow in the years ahead.”

The Maryland findings are part of a broader national shift in federal spending priorities. The reconciliation bills directed $113 billion to ICE alone, including funding for nearly 100,000 detention beds, roughly 14,600 additional officers and staff, and expanded deportation operations. It also created a $27 billion fund within the Department of Homeland Security without specific line-item allocations or regular reporting requirements.

Read the full report from FWD.us here.