TRENTON, NJ – 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 New Jersey. 

One year ago, Republicans in Congress passed President Trump’s signature budget legislation, cutting nearly $1 trillion from health care. Between that bill and the spending bills since, they have funneled a quarter trillion dollars to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to terrorize communities. The new FWD.us report shows that New Jersey is among the states facing the most significant consequences of these decisions, with an estimated $3.7 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 New Jersey: 

• 74 hospitals and medical facilities have closed or are closing, the most of any state, and New Jersey is projected to lose 15,800 health care jobs as a result of changes to the ACA and Medicaid.
• 57,000 more New Jerseyans are projected to become uninsured because of the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. 
• Over 35,000 fewer New Jerseyans are receiving SNAP food assistance, while nearly 60,000 fewer people are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP compared with 2025. 
• The Trump Administration has terminated $7.8 million in Department of Justice grant funding for substance use and mental health programs in New Jersey. 
• At the same time, DHS has spent more than $129 million to expand ICE detention capacity in New Jersey. The state had 11 ICE detention facilities as of July, holding an average of 986 people each day, many in horrible conditions, and 17,683 immigrants have been arrested across the state since January 20, 2025. 

Read the New Jersey 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.

Congressman Rob Menendez (D-NJ-08) said: “President Trump and Republicans have made their priorities clear: gut health care and food assistance for families to bankroll a massive expansion of immigration enforcement. FWD.us’s report confirms what we’re seeing firsthand: hospitals closing, health care jobs disappearing, and food taken from families. Democrats will continue to fight for a better, more inclusive future where we protect the programs families rely on and stop ICE from terrorizing our communities.”

Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us, said: “Across New Jersey, hospitals and medical facilities are closing, thousands of health care jobs are at risk, and funding for substance use and mental health programs has been eliminated. At the same time, the federal government is directing extraordinary resources toward immigration detention and enforcement. New Jersey families should not have to lose resources they depend on to fund an expanded enforcement system. They deserve investments that improve health, lower costs, and make their communities stronger.”

Felicity Rose, Vice President of Research and Policy at FWD.us and author of the report, said: “New Jersey stands to lose $3.7 billion in federal funding under these changes, with 74 hospitals or medical facilities closed or closing and 15,800 health care jobs at risk. At the same time, DHS has spent more than $129 million to expand immigration detention capacity in the state. The full impact has yet to be felt, with major Medicaid and SNAP cuts still ahead, putting even more at stake for New Jersey families and communities.”

The New Jersey 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.