Many have recognized the left’s attempts to control issues by controlling the very language used to frame an issue. The left dominates the tactic, and the right has to do better at pushing back against the reframe.
Whether it’s calling criminal offenders “justice involved individuals,” calling abortion “reproductive healthcare,” or calling socialism “economic justice,” there’s little doubt the left has recognized the value in using language to redefine issues.
The most recent example of this comes from the debate over the government shutdown (October 2025). The key disagreement between Democrat and Republican leaders is whether “illegal” aliens should receive taxpayer funded healthcare.
The Democrat’s willingness to use the term “illegal,” a term they typically rebel against, should not go unnoticed, and the Republicans should seize the moment to clarify what it means to be “illegal,” and what the ramifications of coming here illegally are.
Democrats are arguing that no “illegal” aliens receive taxpayer funded healthcare because federal law prohibits “illegal” aliens from receiving it. Republicans have countered by pointing out that but for the changes voted into law in the “Working Families Tax Cut Act” (WFTCA) in July, many people who illegally entered our country would in fact be receiving taxpayer funded healthcare.
In Minnesota, over 20,000 illegal aliens are currently receiving MinnesotaCare provided to them by Minnesota taxpayers. Minnesota was forced to end this program for adults come January but minors will remain covered.
It’s clear that a key intent of the Republican backed WFTCA was to disincentivize illegal border crossings by removing healthcare benefits from millions of aliens who had entered the country illegally, but had been permitted to stay under one of many status designations provided to them under the Biden Administration – parolee, asylum seeker, refugee, protected status, etc.
The WFTCA had significant public support, even in Minnesota, and the health care for illegals issue was a key factor in President Trump winning the Presidential election in late 2024.
In late September House Republicans passed a short continuing resolution (CR) to maintain current government spending while Congress worked on a more comprehensive long-term budget bill.
Senate Democrats have used their minority status to block passage of the CR, which requires 60 votes in the Senate, unless Republicans accept their 68-page amendment. That amendment includes a short sentence on page 57 that would repeal all the health care protections Republicans had successfully passed as part of the WFTCA.
This move by the Democrats has shut the government down for a full week, with no end in sight.
The shutdown provides Congressional Republicans the opportunity to control the language surrounding the issue.
Congressional Republicans should re-emphasize that those who ignored our laws and entered our country illegally should forfeit their access to taxpayer funded benefits like healthcare, no matter the technical change in status provided to them by the Biden Administration. Estimates put this group at well over 10 million.
Accepting the Democrat amendment to provide taxpayer funded healthcare to those who crossed out borders illegally would only incentivize more illegal border crossings and a further deterioration of our overwhelmed immigration system.
