Thread: There’s work to be done on immigration

There’s work to be done on immigration
bostonherald.com
By Holly Robichaud
Monday, September 5, 2011

Happy Labor Day. You deserve a holiday. But don’t take too much time off. While most of us are working longer hours to keep up with inflation, lower wages and higher taxes, others such as President Obama’s Aunti Zeituni are depending on us for their livelihoods.

There are no line items in the federal, state or municipal budgets for how much illegal immigration is costing us. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change the fact we are paying a hefty price.

According to the Center for Immigration Reform, there are 220,000 illegal immigrants living in Massachusetts. Twenty-five percent are on welfare. That means 55,000 are collecting benefits from the state. If each alien gets $1,000 in taxpayer-funded payments, that equals $55 million per month, or $660 million per year. If they get $2,000 in benefits, we’re talking about $1.2 billion.

The pain doesn’t end there.

Our nation has an estimated 10 million to 12 million illegal aliens. If we approximate that 25 percent are on welfare as in Massachusetts that would mean up to 3 million are collecting benefits. If each alien is receiving $1,000 in benefits per month, that totals up to $3 billion or $36 billion annually. Double the costs if they get $2,000 in benefits.

That doesn’t include schooling, housing, free school lunches, emergency care or incarceration.

Amnesty supporters often suggest it is too expensive to deport them. But is it really? In January, immigration authorities testified at a congressional hearing that it costs $12,500 to deport one alien. The number sounds inflated; however, it could be a bargain. Now that Auntie Zeituni has been granted asylum, we are going to take care of her for the rest of her life. The chances that an illegal immigrant will collect benefits only temporarily are slim. Remember — they broke the law to get here. Deportation would cost half a year’s taxpayer-funded welfare benefits. The commonwealth could save as much as $660 million the first year and $1.2 billion in years to come.

Advocates also claim that illegal immigrants with jobs — such as Obama’s Uncle Omar — add to the GDP. With 9 percent unemployment, it’s clear our legal citizens need those jobs. By cracking down on businesses, the federal government could create millions of employment opportunities and a huge savings in unemployment benefits. If 25 percent of illegal immigrants are employed, that’s up to 3 million jobs. To put that in perspective, this week Obama will announce his plan for creating a million jobs.

The president’s rogue relatives prove we need to end illegal immigration from both a welfare and employment standpoint.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/column ... ition=also

Advocates also claim that illegal immigrants with jobs — such as Obama’s Uncle Omar — add to the GDP.

Are they kidding? Uncle Omar is retired and he's probably already drawing a Social Security check.

Dixie