Exclusive: Wesley Hunt Slams Tim Walz’s ‘Illegal, Reckless’ Medicaid Waivers for Illegal Aliens, Demands Full Minnesota Audit

Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) is demanding answers from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) over the state’s use of federal waivers to extend Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants — raising alarms about taxpayer accountability, legal violations, and the erosion of benefits for law-abiding Americans.

In a letter obtained exclusively by Breitbart News, Hunt accused the Walz administration of misusing Section 1115 waivers under the Social Security Act, which allow states to temporarily deviate from federal Medicaid requirements and experiment with program implementation. Originally intended to improve care for low-income Americans, Hunt said Minnesota is abusing the waivers to funnel taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants — violating federal law and undermining the integrity of Medicaid.

“While caring for those in medical need is vital, Medicaid funds should only go to U.S. citizens and lawful residents who meet eligibility requirements,” Hunt wrote.

The letter, copied to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, follows a June report from the Congressional Budget Office revealing that 1.4 million illegal immigrants are receiving Medicaid benefits nationwide. 

Hunt pointed to Minnesota’s 2023 law expanding eligibility through the MinnesotaCare program, which took effect in January 2025 and is projected to cost millions in taxpayer dollars. Though the state legislature recently voted to repeal the program by year’s end, Hunt said deeper scrutiny is needed.

“I am particularly alarmed about your use of waivers under Section 1115 of the Social Security Act, which have allowed undocumented immigrants to receive taxpayer-funded Medicaid benefits,” Hunt wrote.

Hunt called the expansion “economically reckless” and said it “unfairly burdens taxpayers and legal residents.” He also blasted the Biden administration’s selective enforcement of waiver policy — revoking work requirement waivers in Republican-led Arizona, Indiana, and South Carolina, while encouraging Minnesota to use 1115 waivers to extend coverage to illegal immigrants.

“This inconsistency is unacceptable and highlights the politicization of public health policy under then President Biden,” Hunt wrote.

To restore accountability, Hunt urged Walz to take the following actions:

• Conduct a full audit of Minnesota’s Medicaid enrollment using Social Security Number-based data from the National Eligibility and Enrollment (NEE) system and the Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PARIS) initiative to verify that all enrollees are U.S. citizens or qualified legal immigrants.
• Publicly release all findings related to the number of ineligible individuals currently receiving benefits under Medicaid.
• Immediately revoke the use of Section 1115 waivers that authorize the enrollment of undocumented immigrants in Medicaid programs.

Warning that failure to comply could result in termination of Minnesota’s waiver authority, Hunt stated that refusal to act will be interpreted as “an omission of guilt regarding your office’s insubordination of President Trump’s Executive Order Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders.”

That executive order, signed in February, directs federal agencies to ensure “to the maximum extent possible” that no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens — a directive Hunt says Minnesota is blatantly ignoring.

In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News on Thursday, Hunt insisted that “Minnesota’s use of the 1115 waiver to allow illegal immigrants to receive Medicaid is not only illegal but is also fiscally irresponsible and unjust.” 

“The intention of Medicaid was never to provide health care to those who are not legal residents,” he added. “I will also add that for every illegal immigrant who has received health care through Medicaid programs, it jeopardizes the benefits the program offers to qualified American citizens.”

Hunt closed the letter with a pointed message to Walz: “Governor, sunshine is the best disinfectant.”

The letter to Walz marks the latest in Hunt’s broader push to expose and dismantle state-level Medicaid expansions for illegal immigrants. Just days earlier, Hunt demanded similar audits from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), blasting both for funneling taxpayer-funded health care to hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants through state-run programs. Minnesota, he warns, is no exception.