Bernard Olson: We Can’t Afford the Democrats’ Meritless Immigration System
FILE -- A migrant in Tijuana, Mexico, perches on the border fence during a failed attempt to cross over with his family into San Diego, Dec. 4, 2018. The Supreme Court has turned down the Trump administration's request to stay a lower court's order that struck down an attempt to bar migrants who enter the country illegally from seeking asylum. (Mauricio Lima/The New York Times)
This guest post was submitted by Bernard Olson, a retired Deputy Patrol Agent from Bottineau.
President Trump has long supported a merit-based immigration system, but the Democrats remain committed to opening our borders to freeloaders who sap resources from welfare programs designed to help American citizens.
A report just released by the Center for Immigration Studies finds that illegal immigrant households are far more likely to take advantage of almost every type of federal welfare program than are households headed by legal immigrants or native-born citizens.
In 2014, 63 percent of non-citizen households used some form of welfare, compared to 50 percent of naturalized citizen households and 35 percent of native households. Although illegal immigrants are ineligible for many forms of welfare, they are able to skirt those restrictions if they have native-born children, since illegal immigrant parents are allowed to receive welfare benefits on behalf of their U.S.-citizen children.
Legal immigrant households also use welfare at a significantly higher rate than native households because new immigrants are less-educated on average, and therefore earn lower wages. Indeed, 58 percent of non-citizen heads of household have not exceeded a high school education, compared to 36 percent of native heads of household. Those figures correspond closely with their respective rates of welfare usage.
[mks_pullquote align=”right” width=”300″ size=”24″ bg_color=”#ffffff” txt_color=”#000000″]President Trump is rightly focusing on the huge expense associated with illegal immigration.[/mks_pullquote]
President Trump is rightly focusing on the huge expense associated with illegal immigration. He’s correct in his assessment that illegal immigration costs the U.S. government 10 times the amount that it would take to fund adequate border security, including the construction of a wall.
“Could somebody please explain to the Democrats (we need their votes) that our Country losses 250 Billion Dollars a year on illegal immigration, not including the terrible drug flow,” the President tweeted last week. “Top Border Security, including a Wall, is $25 Billion. Pays for itself in two months. Get it done!”
He’s exactly right. In addition, President Trump has proposed new “public charge” rules that would make it more difficult for prospective immigrants to qualify for green cards if they use or are likely to use government welfare programs.
With a budget impasse looming on December 21, this may be the Republicans Party’s last chance to work out a deal that includes funding for the wall before Democrats take control of the House, which they’ll use to systematically obstruct every attempt the President makes to enforce our immigration laws.
President Trump tried to negotiate a deal back in February — waivers for 1.8 million illegal immigrants in return for border security and reforms to immigration laws — but the Democrats refused to cooperate, instead trying to add in amnesty for all illegal aliens presently here in the United States.
Now, the President is seeking $5 billion for the wall as part of the current budget negotiations, but Democrats are insisting that they will only agree to $1.6 billion. The Democrats are willing to support a nearly $50 billion aid package for Central American countries, yet are unwilling to spend $5 billion on border security. In order for the United States to fix the many loopholes in our immigration laws, we must take care of the largest source of illegal immigration: the vast stretches of unguarded land between ports of entry.
Meanwhile, thousands of people enter our country undetected on a daily basis, and thousands more are lining up at the border trying to force their way into the country, where most will have no trouble joining the welfare rolls.
Millions of illegal immigrants and other non-citizens already living within our borders are eating up welfare dollars intended for struggling Americans. Spending a comparatively small amount on a border wall and other immigration-enforcement measures could save the federal government countless billions of dollars over the long-term.
The Democrats have made it clear that they abhor such common-sense solutions, and actually support a meritless immigration system that will continue to drain our resources and favor illegal immigrants over American citizens.
