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Posting Date: September 12, 2006

Immigration Amnesty Would Impose Stiff Price On Retired and Working U.S. Citizens
By THE SENIOR CITIZENS LEAGUE
Alexandria, VA (September 11, 2006) Pending "guest worker" immigration amnesty legislation would impose a steep price on both retired and working legal U.S. citizens, warns one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups.

"Seniors and disabled people could see cuts to their Social Security checks or Cost-Of-Living Adjustments," states Ralph McCutchen, Chairman of The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). "Social Security could become insolvent even sooner than expected," he says, "and legal U.S. workers could see a bigger chunk of their paychecks go to pay Social Security taxes. These are just a few of the huge costs, if Congress moves to legalize millions of currently illegal immigrants under pending 'guest worker' immigration legislation," McCutchen says.

The Senate's "guest worker" immigration reform legislation would give currently illegal immigrants new access to work-authorized Social Security numbers, and entitlement to benefits based on past earnings even for work performed while illegal.

The bill would allow illegal immigrants credit for work that was performed under a fraudulent or non-work authorized Social Security number. In addition, according to a new cost estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the legislation would cost the Social Security Trust Fund almost $50 billion in payroll taxes because employers would not be required to pay payroll taxes for illegal employees who apply for legal status.

Earlier this year the CBO said that the legislation's effect on Social Security's finances are "quite uncertain." Currently, millions of immigrants are working illegally using the fraudulent and non-work- authorized Social Security numbers.

TSCL is fighting the legalization of illegal workers, and a related Social Security Totalization Agreement with Mexico. In a move to force the U.S. government to disclose the cost of the Totalization Agreement to the Social Security Trust Fund, the League recently filed two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits.

TSCL has made repeated requests since 2003 to both the Social Security Administration and the State Department, but the agencies have not released all pertinent information. In addition, the organization has been running newspaper ads 100% paid for and supported by outraged seniors across the country. "U.S. senior citizens and workers deserve to be told the full cost of this legislation," says McCutchen. "What is our government trying to hide?" he asks. We urge seniors to contact your Members of Congress to vote "nay" to "guest worker" immigration amnesty and the Social Security Totalization Agreement With Mexico.