What does it mean to work yourself to the bone and still come up short?
Ask the mother in Sandtown-Winchester who, at times, skips dinner so her kids can eat. Ask the father in Cherry Hill, working two jobs, who has to decide, gas or groceries? Ask the student trying to defy the odds at Baltimore City Community College while balancing a job and caring for siblings, all while navigating a system that was never built for them.
These aren’t abstract policy examples. These are real lives, real decisions, real people—right here in Baltimore City.
1 in 3 households—nearly a million families—in Maryland live under the ALICE threshold: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. Of the over 929,000 households in Maryland living under the ALICE threshold, families in Baltimore account for close to 600,000 of those households. Families under the ALICE threshold do not meet the minimum level of income for household survival. These are families who work hard, sometimes multiple jobs, and still can’t afford basic needs like housing, food, or healthcare. In Baltimore, they make up the very soul of this city.
So, what happens when the few lifelines they count on are threatened?
Programs like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)—which provides expecting and new mothers with access to nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals for postpartum and other services—are being hampered. The WIC program is facing a potential $1 billion funding shortfall for fiscal year 2024. This deficit could lead to approximately 2 million eligible parents and young children being turned away by September 2024, marking the first time in decades that eligible participants might be placed on waiting lists.
Emergency Medicaid, which covers labor and delivery in neighborhoods like Highlandtown, is being cut—even as too many women give birth without prenatal care, putting newborns at nearly five times greater risk of death. For the child in West Baltimore heading to school without breakfast, the free and reduced-price school lunch may be the only full meal they receive all day. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) like Chase Brexton and Total Health Care are not just clinics—they are lifelines. These centers provide essential services like health screenings, annual checkups, dental care, and mental health counseling. For countless families across Baltimore, especially in underserved neighborhoods of Baltimore City, these centers are the only places they can turn to for care. Without them, entire communities would be left without a safety net.
Now, because of President Trump’s Executive Order titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders”, all of it is on the chopping block. Let’s call this policy what it is: an attack on Baltimore’s working poor. It claims to crack down on undocumented immigrants, but in truth, it seeks to eliminate federal funding for any programs that offer “cash or non-cash assistance” to immigrants it labels as “unqualified.” That includes legal permanent residents—people who pay taxes, raise families, and contribute to our city, state, and country every day.
The Executive Order claims to prevent taxpayer dollars from supporting undocumented immigrants, but here’s the truth: these restrictions already exist. The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act already bars most immigrants—whether here lawfully or not—from accessing the majority of federal assistance programs. Immigrants are already ineligible for core safety net programs like Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
What remains accessible is a very limited set of lifeline programs—emergency Medicaid, FQHCs, free and reduced-price school meals, and WIC. And even then, these programs primarily serve the children of immigrants—children who, by birthright, are American citizens. These aren’t loopholes; they’re acts of basic humanity. They keep families afloat, stabilize entire households, and ensure that no child goes without a meal or a doctor’s visit simply because of where their parents were born.
To be clear: undocumented residents make up a small portion of Maryland’s population—just 3.5% according to the Migrant Policy Institute. In Baltimore City, they account for only 0.4% of the city’s total population. Yet, this Executive Order targets them with sweeping policies that threaten to undermine systems relied on by hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. It’s not about immigration enforcement—it’s about dismantling the safety nets holding Baltimore families together.
Access to these critical humanitarian programs does not incentivize illegal immigration; rather, it hinders accessibility for the hundreds of thousands of families in Baltimore that rely on them to survive. Expanding eligibility verification systems builds higher walls of bureaucracy—walls that families must now climb just to access the support that should already be within reach. Inflation is hitting working families harder than ever before. With more than half of Maryland’s households below the ALICE threshold struggling to afford basic necessities like food, rent, and medication, how can we expect these families to stay afloat when a medical emergency occurs? Nearly 20% of ALICE households in 2024 paid a sudden major medical expense out of pocket that insurance did not fully cover. With costs rising, ALICE households are forced to make difficult decisions between paying for life-saving medication and having a roof over their head, or choosing between seeing a doctor and making sure their children have warm clothes to face the cold.
This Executive Order will not stop illegal immigration, but it will hurt families in Baltimore who live paycheck to paycheck, week to week, medication to medication. It will hurt U.S. citizens. It will hurt legal residents. It will hurt mothers giving birth, along with their babies and children. It will hurt students trying to stay in school. And it will hurt the city’s backbone—the working-class communities that keep Baltimore running. This isn’t policy; this is cruelty with a title. And Baltimore will pay the price.
The current administration’s Executive Order argues that taxpayer resources are “acting as a magnet and fueling illegal immigration,” but the truth is far more complex. The programs targeted by this order, like Emergency Medicaid, WIC, and Federally Qualified Health Centers, aren’t attracting immigrants—they’re lifelines for American citizen children in mixed-status families. These programs are critical for families who, despite their struggles, contribute to the fabric of this country. To call them “magnets” is to ignore the reality of families who are working tirelessly to stay afloat, and yet face unimaginable challenges.
As a nation built on principles of justice, freedom, and compassion, we should be ashamed to undermine these fundamental protections. When we strip away these programs, it’s not just policy; it’s a direct attack on the most vulnerable in our communities. It’s not Washington that will feel the impact—it’s the streets, schools, and homes of Baltimore, where families are already making impossible choices between food, healthcare, and shelter.
Consider the alarming funding shortfall facing WIC, potentially $1 billion for fiscal year 2024. As of September 2024, nearly 2 million eligible parents and children could be turned away. Meanwhile, SNAP benefits remain secure through March 2025, but with ongoing funding lapses looming, the risk to families remains. And, just this month, the House passed a budget resolution that could cut Medicaid by up to $1.5 trillion. These aren’t just abstract numbers—they’re real people, real lives that will be affected. As we consider these cuts, let’s ask ourselves: who are we, and what kind of country do we want to be? The future of families in cities like Baltimore depends on the answer.
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