One Year After H.R. 1: Numerous Immigration, Education, and Tax Changes Now in Effect
Dustin Hare, Heather Braum & Emily Barnes | June 29, 2026
In addition to significant cuts to federal funding for SNAP and Medicaid, H.R. 1 also included numerous changes for immigration, education, and taxes. As these policies have gone into effect, we are starting to see the impacts on Kansans.
Immigration Policy Impacts
H.R. 1 provided $170 billion in new funding for infrastructure and personnel for immigration enforcement, suggesting an intention to build out a deportation and detention regime across the country. We have already seen entities in Kansas take advantage of this new funding to police and detain immigrant populations in our state.
Funds were made available to increase the training and hiring of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, with the intent of increasing detainments and deportations. Paired with that was funding for the training and deputizing of local law enforcement for the purpose of immigration enforcement, a task traditionally left to federal agencies. Since the passage of H.R. 1, 29 local law enforcement agencies in Kansas have signed agreements with ICE allowing municipal police and sheriffs’ deputies to arrest and detain Kansans who do not have citizenship status.
To accompany this increase in enforcement, a new immigration detention facility has opened in Kansas since the passage of H.R. 1, with the capacity to incarcerate more than 1,000 individuals. The operation of this privately-owned, for-profit facility in Leavenworth is made possible through the allocation of taxpayer funds authorized by H.R. 1.
Additionally, refugees and asylees – immigrant populations who are legally authorized to live in the United States – are no longer eligible for SNAP or Medicaid. For SNAP beneficiaries, anyone who falls into this category will be (or already has been) disqualified and will lose coverage at the date of their annual reauthorization period. Around 3,000 Medicaid beneficiaries who are refugees and asylees in Kansas will have their coverage discontinued on September 30, 2026.
Education Provisions Just Taking Effect
This session, the Kansas Legislature opted into the Scholarship Tax Credit created by H.R. 1. This offers a matching $1,700 credit per taxpayer for their donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations. The scholarships can be used toward private school tuition, educational materials, and tutoring services. Education advocates shared concerns that the program will redirect funding away from public schools. As this credit becomes implemented over the coming year, more data will show how public school funding might be impacted.
Changes to student loans are also just now taking effect. Beginning July 1, 2026, postsecondary students will see changes to student lending, including repayment programs and the establishment of the Workforce Pell Grant to provide training programs for high-demand, high-wage jobs. Kansas passed legislation in 2026 to implement the Workforce Pell Grants. Advocates will continue to monitor how this may impact fields like child care and early learning over the next few years as higher education students choose their degree programs.
Massive Tax Cuts That Won’t Bring Relief to Those Who Need Them the Most
It cannot be forgotten that SNAP, Medicaid, and other funding cuts paid for the tax cuts in H.R. 1. Some of these tax changes are temporary – including the baby bond pilot and deductions for tips, overtime pay, and senior citizen benefits – and are set to expire on December 31, 2028. But even those changes won’t benefit workers the way they were touted.
While the maximum child tax credit amount for any child is now indexed to inflation each year ($2,200 in 2026), more than 100,000 Kansas kids are projected to miss out on this benefit. Families who don’t earn enough income continue to not qualify for the child tax credit; H.R. 1 could have addressed this barrier but didn’t. Additionally, now one parent must have a Social Security number to qualify their child for the federal child tax credit, which means there are thousands of Kansas kids who will not qualify even though they are American citizens.
Meanwhile, instead of pursuing policy that would actually help families struggling with the cost of living, health care, and food, some in Congress continue to push forward for another reconciliation bill to pass additional tax cuts, defense spending, and more safety net cuts. Priorities are out of alignment for what families need most from policymakers.
In the years to come, Kansas families will lose much more than they will gain from the passage of H.R. 1. Fear caused by increased immigration enforcement, student loan changes that could close the door to affording education for certain professional pathways, and temporary popular tax changes that won’t benefit those who need them the most are just part of the legacy that H.R. 1 will leave behind.
The harms of this bill have far outweighed the few good policies that can help families. In fact, any tax positives Kansas families might have gained in the last year due to H.R. 1 have certainly been eaten away by inflated grocery and gas prices this year. As more provisions of H.R. 1 go into effect and with threats of Congress doubling down on the harm caused by this bill, we will continue to document the legacy of H.R. 1.
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