Illegal Immigration and the Welfare State
Composition and Rhetoric
23 April 2010
Illegal Immigration and the Welfare State “We must end welfare state subsidies for illegal immigrants. Some illegal immigrants—certainly not all—receive housing subsidies, food stamps, free medical care, and other forms of welfare.” In this statement by Ron Paul, a Texas congressman, it is obvious that this subject needs a serious look into modifying our current guidelines. He also states, “Illegal immigrants place a tremendous strain on social entitlement programs. Under a proposed totalization agreement with Mexico, millions of illegal immigrants will qualify for Social Security and other programs-programs that already threaten financial ruin for America in the coming decades.”(1) They come here illegally, take our jobs, and undermine our welfare system. Illegal aliens should not be allowed the benefits our social welfare systems. The immigrants that cross our borders illegally and work for low wages are depriving American citizens of the chance to seek the employment opportunities that are no longer available. Many of these immigrants work under the table and deprive the governments of the tax revenue they generate. In an article by Barbara Anderson of the American Chronicle, she states, “Low paid illegal aliens cannot feed their families on those wages any better than a citizen can and must use our social welfare benefits to make ends meet.” In the article she made a comment on a Bear Sterns report that of the twenty million illegal immigrant workers in the United States, five million do not pay taxes, social security or insurance. The report states, “Those five millions cheat the government out of over thirty five billions dollars a year. At the same time they receive thirty billion a year in government largess.” Reducing overhead costs with low wages and no benefits, employers are able to outbid competitors and effectively put legitimate companies out of work. Besides losing revenue for taxes,
23 April 2010
Illegal Immigration and the Welfare State “We must end welfare state subsidies for illegal immigrants. Some illegal immigrants—certainly not all—receive housing subsidies, food stamps, free medical care, and other forms of welfare.” In this statement by Ron Paul, a Texas congressman, it is obvious that this subject needs a serious look into modifying our current guidelines. He also states, “Illegal immigrants place a tremendous strain on social entitlement programs. Under a proposed totalization agreement with Mexico, millions of illegal immigrants will qualify for Social Security and other programs-programs that already threaten financial ruin for America in the coming decades.”(1) They come here illegally, take our jobs, and undermine our welfare system. Illegal aliens should not be allowed the benefits our social welfare systems. The immigrants that cross our borders illegally and work for low wages are depriving American citizens of the chance to seek the employment opportunities that are no longer available. Many of these immigrants work under the table and deprive the governments of the tax revenue they generate. In an article by Barbara Anderson of the American Chronicle, she states, “Low paid illegal aliens cannot feed their families on those wages any better than a citizen can and must use our social welfare benefits to make ends meet.” In the article she made a comment on a Bear Sterns report that of the twenty million illegal immigrant workers in the United States, five million do not pay taxes, social security or insurance. The report states, “Those five millions cheat the government out of over thirty five billions dollars a year. At the same time they receive thirty billion a year in government largess.” Reducing overhead costs with low wages and no benefits, employers are able to outbid competitors and effectively put legitimate companies out of work. Besides losing revenue for taxes,
Cited: Barbara Anderson “Illegal Immigration: Fool Me Once, Shame on You…” American Chronicle 23 Mar.2006 <http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/7158> Web. 15 Mar. 2010 Edward Sifuentes “Cost of Illegal Immigration in California Estimated at Nearly $9 Billion” North County Times, Ca. 06 Dec. 2006 <http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article> Web. 23 Apr 2010 “Immigration and Welfare” Federation for American Immigration Reform, July 2003<http://www.fairus.org/site/News2/> Web. 23 Apr. 2010 Jason L. Riley. “ObamaCare and Immigration Reform; You can’t have open borders and a generous welfare state.” Wall Street Journal (Online) 27 Mar. 2010,ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest, Evans Library Database 25 Apr. 2010 Ron Paul “Immigration and the Welfare State” Texas Straight Talk, <http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2005/tst080805.htm> 2005 Web.29 March 2010 Steven Malanga “How unskilled Immigrants Hurt Our Economy” City Journal <http://www.city-journal.org/html/16_3_immigrants_economy.html> 2006 Web. 23 April 2010 “Survey of Newly Legalized persons in California” Electronic Journal Article 1989 Evans Library Database. 25 Apr. 2010 “WELFARE COSTS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN L.A. COUNTY OVER $36 MILLION IN MARCH.” Us Fed News Service, Including US State News 2 May 2008, General Interest Module, ProQuest, Evans Library Database, 25 Apr. 2010