10/24/2025
I listened to the White House Report tonight and was horrified at the scare tactics. These are not a true representation of what the Democrats want and the reason for the Government shut down!
I have been off social media for over a month and cannot stay quiet anymore. Here is what I have researched, and please feel free to fact check: 1. Why do some Republicans blame Democrats for a shutdown to “insure illegal immigrants who are criminals”? Is that true?
Meditate for peace and resolution! I have been sending Reiki and focussing on all the good in the world but tonight I heard things that were inflammatory. It made me sad. I am praying for compromise and truth to prevail. Satya is essential in all areas of life.
What the Republicans are claiming:
In recent debates around the 2025 government shutdown, leading Republicans—including President Trump, Vice President Vance, and House leadership—have repeatedly asserted that Democrats insisted on including health-care subsidies or benefits for undocumented immigrants (i.e. “free health care for illegals”) as part of the spending package.
AP News
+3
The Guardian
+3
The Guardian
+3
They frame it as Democrats “holding the government hostage” until those demands are met.
AP News
+3
The Guardian
+3
The Guardian
+3
They also emphasize a narrative of crime: implying or stating that some undocumented immigrants are criminals who should not receive taxpayer-funded benefits. (That connects to a long-standing political framing of immigration and criminality, which is potent in public rhetoric though often lacks proportional evidence.)
What the facts, laws, and fact-checks say
Undocumented / illegal immigrants are already ineligible for most federal health insurance programs—including Medicaid (in most cases) and Marketplace (ACA) subsidies.
The Guardian
+3
AP News
+3
The Guardian
+3
The AP Fact Check explicitly debunks the claim that Democrats shut the government down to provide benefits to illegal immigrants: “This is false.”
AP News
Independent fact-checkers and policy analysts emphasize that the legislation Democrats are pushing involves preserving or restoring ACA subsidies and Medicaid funding—not expanding benefits to undocumented immigrants.
The Guardian
+2
AP News
+2
Some Republicans do single out Emergency Medicaid (the portion of Medicaid that pays for emergency care to people, regardless of immigration status, when hospitals are required by law to treat those in urgent situations). But that is a very small fraction of overall Medicaid spending (less than 1 %) and does not equate to providing full health benefits or insurance plans to undocumented immigrants.
AP News
+1
Also, the legal frameworks currently prohibit undocumented immigrants from accessing many of the standard federal health programs.
The Guardian
+2
AP News
+2
Thus: the broad Republican claim exaggerates (or misrepresents) what is legally permissible and misstates what Democrats are asking for.
Conclusion on that part: Yes — the Republican messaging is using exaggeration and scare tactics. The idea that Democrats orchestrated a shutdown to provide “free health care for criminal illegal immigrants” is not supported by law or factual policy proposals.
2. Did ICE take Black people out in Chicago who were black and naked children?
This likely refers to a recent incident — a controversial immigration enforcement raid in Chicago. Here’s what is known:
What we know from media reports
In late September/early October 2025, a federal “military-style” raid was carried out on an apartment building in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago. Agents from DHS, Border Patrol, FBI, ATF, etc., forcibly entered units, used flashbangs, helicopters/drones, and detained dozens of people.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
+3
TIME
+3
WBEZ
+3
Witnesses reported that some residents were pulled from their apartments while partially clothed or unclothed; items were strewn, doors were broken, and children were separated from parents in some reports.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
+3
WBEZ
+3
TIME
+3
One resident said, “I saw people’s birth certificates, and papers thrown all over.”
WBEZ
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended the raid, claiming the building was associated with gang activity and criminal behavior. They also asserted that children handled in the operation were taken into custody “for their own safety” or to ensure they were not being trafficked, abused, or exploited.
TIME
+2
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
+2
The U.S. House Committees on Homeland Security and Judiciary have launched investigations into the operation, demanding more transparency about the conduct of the raid and whether civil rights or constitutional protections were violated.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
What is not yet clearly proven or confirmed
It is not clear (in all public accounts) whether all children taken into custody were black, or whether they were entirely unclothed in all cases (the “naked children” detail is in witness descriptions, which may vary).
It is not confirmed that every person detained was undocumented—some U.S. citizens were reportedly detained temporarily.
WBEZ
+2
TIME
+2
Whether the operation violated warrants or constitutional rights (excessive force, due process, illegal search/seizure) is under investigation. It’s contested.
DHS and federal officials have defended the operation as lawful and targeted; criticisms cite alarming tactics, traumatizing treatment of children, and the potential for overreach.
PBS
+3
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
+3
TIME
+3
Conclusion on that part: Yes — there are credible reports that in Chicago a federal raid involved children being moved from their homes in scant clothing (or unclothed) and separated from parents, and that Black people in the building were among those detained. The details (how many, how naked, how it was handled legally) are under scrutiny and investigation.
Why these narratives are powerful and dangerous
Emotional imagery (children taken from beds, nakedness, criminal immigrants) is extremely potent in public discourse and helps the narrative stick — even if the facts are more complicated.
Such messaging simplifies a complex policy debate (health care, immigration, budgeting) into a stark, fear-based binary: “Democrats are enabling criminals.” That helps motivate voters and donors.
Because many people don’t track the technicalities of health-care eligibility laws, the misrepresentation can go unchecked or be repeated without pushback.
Meanwhile, real incidents like the Chicago raid provide factual kernels that can be amplified or generalized in ways that inflame public emotion, sometimes beyond what the evidence supports.
