Right Side News Reports from the Federation for American Immigration Reform in this December 7th, 2009 Legislative Weekly
-
Senate Health Bill: Verification Loopholes Will Allow Illegal Aliens to Access Benefits
-
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: Illegal Immigration Continues to Harm Out-of-Work Americans
-
Obama Systematically Dismantling Immigration Enforcement
-
Illegal Immigration Hurts Maryland Families When They Can Least Afford It
Senate Health Bill: Verification Loopholes Will Allow Illegal Aliens to Access Benefits
FAIR's Government Relations team has just finalized a Legislative Analysis of the Senate health care reform bill (H.R. 3590) and its impact on immigration. As with FAIR's previous analysis of the House health care bill, FAIR's analysis of the Senate bill discussed three key immigration related issues: (1) changes to current law that would circumvent the provision of current law that requires legal aliens to wait five years before they can access certain taxpayer-funded health benefits; (2) the existence of verification loopholes that would allow illegal aliens to access these benefits; and (3) language that would not effectively prevent illegal aliens from accessing the taxpayer-subsidized "Exchange" marketplace. (USA Today, November 12, 2009).
Like the House-passed health care bill, the Senate bill also fails to address these issues in a way that protects the American taxpayers. Moreover, the Senate bill raises an additional issue in that it gives low-income legal immigrants the ability to receive taxpayer-subsidies so that they can choose which health insurance they want, while similarly situated American citizens would be denied this same freedom and forced to enroll in Medicaid. FAIR's analysis has been posted on FAIR's website.
FAIR has been working with two Senators who have indicated that they intend to offer amendments to correct these issues. While we can't share specifics about these amendments at this time, we are hopeful these amendments will be voted on and will post details as they emerge. Keep checking our website for information as the immigration/health care debate unfolds.
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: Illegal Immigration Continues to Harm Out-of-Work Americans
Later this week, FAIR will release an updated version of its report on Amnesty and Joblessness to reflect the latest nationwide unemployment numbers issued by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This report discusses how Americans are facing the worst job market in 25 years and points out that the passage of amnesty legislation would allow the approximately 8.3 million illegal aliens who are part of the American workforce to keep jobs they should never have had.
Amnesty and Joblessness notes that the current nationwide unemployment rate is ten percent, and points out that more than 15.4 million Americans are without a job and actively looking for work. (BLS, December 4, 2009). Despite this harsh economic picture, the Obama administration and leaders in Congress are considering passing legislation that would give amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. The report points out, however, that the American job market today "is much, much worse" than the last time Congress debated (and rejected) amnesty - in June 2007. The report argues that Congress has a responsibility to ensure that available jobs are filled by legal workers, and that passage of amnesty legislation in these harsh economic times would constitute a failure by Congress to live up to its basic responsibilities to the American people.
The report will be available later this week at FAIR's website.
Obama Systematically Dismantling Immigration Enforcement
A report to be released by FAIR later this week reveals that, since taking office, President Obama has undermined nearly every immigration enforcement measure available to him. Entitled The Road to Amnesty, the report notes that, since winning the 2008 election, President Obama has systematically surrounded himself with individuals who support granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens living in the United States. The report highlights ten separate statements from members of the Obama administration - including the president himself - indicating that this administration supports amnesty and will attempt to push legislation through Congress in 2010.
The Road to Amnesty also notes that previous debates over amnesty legislation have revealed overwhelming public opposition to any type of plan to legalize the illegal alien population. (See Rasmussen Reports, June 25, 2007). The Obama administration, then, will likely attempt to make their amnesty proposal more palatable to the American people by tying the legislation to empty promises of immigration enforcement. The report points out, however, that the Obama administration's record on enforcement thus far tells the American people everything they need to know about the administration's commitment to immigration enforcement. Specifically, the report details how the administration has:
-
Delayed - on three separate occasions - a requirement that federal contractors use the federal E-Verify system to ensure that their employees are legally authorized to work in the United States and not illegal aliens (See The Washington Post, January 30, 2009; See also FAIR's Legislative Updates from April 20, 2009 and June 8, 2009);
-
Gutted worksite enforcement operations by allowing illegal aliens to remain in the workforce to compete with American citizens and legal immigrants for jobs (See FAIR's Legislative Update, September 8, 2009; See also MPRNews, November 9, 2009);
-
Undermined the 287(g) program, which allows federal officials to train state and local law enforcement agencies in the enforcement of federal immigration laws, by forcing agencies who participate in the program to focus on removing "dangerous criminal" aliens, as opposed to all illegal aliens (See FAIR's Legislative Update, July 13, 2009);
-
Failed to utilize the National Guard to secure our porous borders (See FAIR's Legislative Update, March 16, 2009);
-
Advocated passage of the PASS ID Act, legislation that would gut uniform security requirements for State-issued driver's licenses and identification cards and re-establish many of the security and immigration loopholes that allowed the 9/11 hijackers to carry out the attack on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center (See FAIR's Legislative Update, July 20, 2009); and
-
Altered the immigration detention system in such a way that will almost certainly lead to an increase in the number of illegal aliens who abscond after apprehension. (See FAIR's Legislative Update, October 13, 2009).
The report will be available later this week at FAIR's website.
Illegal Immigration Hurts Maryland Families When They Can Least Afford It
This week FAIR released simultaneous studies that document the true costs of illegal immigration in Maryland and demonstrate strong voter objections to the burdens placed on them by illegal immigration. (The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Marylanders; English Learners and Immigration: A Case Study of Prince George's County, Maryland). According to The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Marylanders, the price tag associated with providing education, health care, and incarceration of criminal illegal aliens is at least $1.4 billion a year. (The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Marylanders). The impact of this staggering cost has not gone unnoticed by Maryland voters. A new Pulse Opinion Research Poll of 1,000 likely voters across the state found that, by a large margin, Marylanders believe that illegal immigration is harming their state.
The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Marylanders found that taxpayers spend:
-
$966 million a year to educate illegal alien children and the U.S. born children of illegal aliens and an additional $250 million to provide special English instruction;
-
$167 million a year on unreimbursed health care for illegal aliens;
-
$29 million a year to incarcerate criminal illegal aliens; and
-
The total represents an annual cost to each of Maryland's native-born headed households of $790.
In a separate report, English Learners and Immigration: A Case Study of Prince George's County, Maryland, FAIR examines the impact of mass immigration on local schools in Prince George's County. Because of large-scale legal and illegal immigration, the county has seen its non-English proficient student population grow from 7,064 in 2004 to 13,825 today. (English Learners and Immigration: A Case Study of Prince George's County, Maryland). Programs to teach immigrant students English cost the county more than $66 million a year. (Id.).
As noted in The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Marylanders, the costs imposed on law-abiding Marylanders are especially burdensome at a time when the state has been cutting jobs and funding for schools and health care. State and local policymakers have the ability to respond to the concerns of Maryland voters by discouraging settlement of illegal aliens. On December 15, Frederick County Commissioners will consider whether to adopt new regulations to prevent contractors from hiring illegal alien workers. (The Frederick News-Post, December 3, 2009). In February, commissioners are also expected to review a proposal to require contractors to use the federal E-verify system, an Internet-based program designed to verify legal status of workers under federal contract. (Id.). These initiatives are the result of concerns raised by Commissioner Charles Jenkins, who has brought attention to the costs of illegal immigration.
Maryland has a fast growing illegal alien population of about a quarter million persons, which has more than quadrupled since 2000. (The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Marylanders). As the costs of illegal immigration continue to rise, so does the dissatisfaction of Maryland voters. The Pulse Opinion Research Poll found that:
-
73% of Maryland voters say illegal immigration has a negative impact on the state. Only 20% believe it has a positive impact on Maryland.
-
77% of Maryland voters believe illegal aliens have a negative impact on the state budget, versus only 15% who believe their impact is positive.
-
65% of Maryland voters believe that illegal immigration harms the state's schools. Only 18% believe illegal immigration has had a beneficial effect on education.
-
55% believe illegal immigration should be reduced through better enforcement of immigration laws. Only 36% of Maryland voters favor amnesty or legalization for current illegal aliens
