Regardless of your opinion about welfare, there’s near universal agreement that it should be restricted to our own citizens. For the most part – it is – but that doesn’t mean that the system is free of abuse.
As the Washington Examiner puts it, there are plenty of illegal immigrants “cashing in:”
Illegal immigrant households receive an average of $5,692 in federal welfare benefits every year, far more than the average “native” American household, at $4,431, according to a new report on the cost of immigration released Monday.
The Center for Immigration Studies, in an analysis of federal cost figures, found that all immigrant-headed households — legal and illegal — receive an average of $6,241 in welfare, 41 percent more than native households.
The total cost is over $103 billion in welfare benefits to households headed by immigrants. A majority, 51 percent, of immigrant households receive some type of welfare compared to 30 percent of native households, said the analysis of Census data.
So you’re probably wondering: how the heck do illegal immigrants even qualify for welfare benefits in the first place? They don’t: their children born here who become naturalized citizens at birth are what’s breaking the buck.
The study noted that illegal immigrants are barred from directly receiving welfare, but instead get it via their legal children. “Illegal immigrants are barred from directly accessing most (though not all) welfare programs, but they can receive welfare through their U.S.-born children. Legal immigrant households, which have greater eligibility for welfare, cost $6,378 on average,” he wrote.
This is the cost of illegal immigration, and it’s no wonder one candidate in particular thinks Mexico should be bearing the cost.
[Note: This post was authored by The Analytical Economist]
No comments:
Post a Comment