Thread: Nevada assemblyman seeks law requiring proof of legal reside

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Nevada assemblyman seeks law requiring proof of legal residency


A newly elected Nevada lawmaker said he wants a bill to prohibit illegal residents from receiving most state benefits.

Assemblyman Ty Cobb, R-Reno, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal for a Tuesday report that when the Legislature convenes in February he intends to introduce a measure to require state program beneficiaries to provide a Social Security number or other form of identification.

'Immigration reform was the No. 1 issue that came up during my campaign,' Cobb said. 'There is a tremendous economic impact on our state.'

Public education would not be affected, because states are constitutionally mandated to educate every child regardless of legal status.

Emergency medical care also would not be banned.

But other state programs could be affected by requiring people applying or reapplying for various state benefits to show proof of citizenship, Cobb said, including Millennium Scholarships to academically qualified Nevada high school graduates if they are illegal immigrants.

Cobb said his bill might be modeled on a measure passed in Colorado, where the Legislature in a special session in July passed several anti-illegal immigration measures, including one denying illegal immigrants access to most state programs and benefits, from unemployment insurance to public housing.

A Social Security card or other proof of citizenship is not required to obtain unemployment benefits in Nevada, said Mae Flennoy, state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation spokeswoman.

Employers are expected to confirm citizenship of new employees at hiring, and the department spot checks those seeking benefits.

The state agency also checks with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service on people who acknowledge they are not citizens but who say they have the legal right to work in the U.S., Flennoy said.

Cobb said his bill would not address English-language-only issues similar to those raised in the Nye County community of Pahrump and in a bill proposed by outgoing Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, R-Reno.

Assembly Speaker-elect Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said prospects for Cobb's proposal were uncertain.

Several state-managed programs, including Medicaid and temporary assistance to needy families, already require proof of citizenship, Buckley said, and the federal government recently decided to seek additional proof that Medicaid recipients are citizens.

Buckley noted that identification requirement posed problems for some recipients, such as elderly nursing home residents who had to find their birth certificates.

'People need to be careful about unintended consequences,' she said.

Incoming Assembly Minority Leader Garn Mabey, R-Las Vegas, said he would not expect Cobb's bill to gain much support in the Assembly, where Democrats have a 27-15 edge.

Originally Posted by patbrunz

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006612120373

Nevada assemblyman seeks law requiring proof of legal residency


A newly elected Nevada lawmaker said he wants a bill to prohibit illegal residents from receiving most state benefits.

We would not need proof if the government would have done it's job or do it and clean the country up of these illegal invaders. And they should get ZERO benefits from the state. They need to clean this mess up once and for all, no a little here and a little there. Remove these criminals! And I like many others am tired of all so much of our tax dollars going for them and not our own citizens! How many hospitals went under because of them?