Thread: Republicans estimate pathway to citizenship could cost taxpayers billions

Republicans estimate pathway to citizenship could cost taxpayers billions

Published April 04, 2013
FoxNews.com

Senate Republicans estimated Thursday that the annual cost to taxpayers of legalizing illegal immigrants could be in the billions, if they use their status to apply for federal benefits from Medicaid and ObamaCare.

Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee -- responding to a draft immigration bill that includes a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants -- estimated that the cost could total up to $40 billion in 2022, "just for Medicaid and ObamaCare."

"The net costs would be enormous and only increase once citizenship is granted," the office of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, top Republican on the committee, said in a statement Thursday. The estimates were crunched by budget committee Republican staff.

Payments from Medicaid and subsidies from the federal health care law represent just a fraction of federal government benefits that a green-card holder or U.S. citizen can apply for.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a key member of the "Gang of Eight" which is drafting a proposal, has stressed that he would ensure there are limits on benefits being applied to these individuals. He told Fox News in January that the first phase for them would be to get a nonimmigrant visa -- not a green card -- "and you don't qualify for any federal benefits under that. You don't get federal benefits."

Their eligibility, though, would change once they get a green card.

Sessions' office voiced concern Thursday that a law -- which dates back a century and was renewed by Congress in 1996 -- meant to prevent immigrants from taking root in the U.S. only to live on the government dole would not be applied here.

That law is supposed to turn away those immigrants who are likely to become a "public charge." But the statement Thursday claimed nothing in the current plan would apply to those already in the country before they are granted legal status.

Further, numbers recently provided by the Department of Homeland Security indicated the "public charge" standard is not aggressively enforced. The department found just one case for most of fiscal 2012 where the claim was leveled at an immigrant. "However, the charge was later withdrawn," DHS reported.

The department blamed "data entry quality" for not having complete information on how many immigrants became public charges.

Despite widespread reports and speculation about the immigration bill being drafted, a bill has not yet been introduced. Senators are working out the details in hopes of bringing it before Congress in the coming weeks.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...#ixzz2PVzCwrSd

The department blamed "data entry quality" for not having complete information on how many immigrants became public charges.

Kind of hard to keep track when this same government tells everyone not to keep track and calls it prejudicial to keep track.

Considering the fact they (government) have estimated the number of illegals low then add family members it is possible to come up with 25-30 million very fast,most with less then an 8th grade education and what you have is a cradle to grave dependency.

The very idea that amnesty would be helpful to America in any form is ignorant bordering on insane considering the growing unemployment rate.

When I was in Costa Rica a few years back to visit a family member on vacation. I read in their paper they were saying 35 million illegals were living here in the USA. I thought who would know better than a country in South America. Our papers just report the lies the government feeds them.