The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has not yet determined how many refugees will be affected by the new restrictions.
BOISE, Idaho — Refugees and asylum seekers in Idaho will soon lose access to several federal aid programs under a new law signed by President Trump, though state officials told KTVB no one has lost benefits yet.
The legislation, known as the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” went into effect earlier this summer. However, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is still awaiting guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture before implementing changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Holly Beech, communications manager for the Idaho Office for Refugees, said the cuts will extend beyond SNAP benefits. Starting in October 2026, refugees will be barred from enrolling in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The following year, they will lose access to health care through the Affordable Care Act and Medicare.
“As you can imagine, the nature of them having to flee danger, they didn’t have wealth resources built up to bring with them to start their new life,” she said. “And so, these programs are really more of that initial early support for people when they are brand new in a country.”
About 500 people have resettled in Idaho over the last year, primarily from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan. Beech said the policy changes are hard to understand, given the U.S.’s long history of welcoming refugees and helping them establish new lives in the country.
Refugees will become eligible to apply for benefits once they obtain green cards, a process that typically begins after they have been in the United States for one year.
However, she said obtaining green cards has taken longer than usual under the Trump administration, partly because U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services paused applications for about a month this spring.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has not yet determined how many refugees will be affected by the new restrictions.
Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, “expressed openness to revisiting the provisions for those who are following the law, but any changes would need to incorporate the views of his colleagues and the White House,” according to his spokesperson.