Heritage Foundation policy expert, Robert Rector, is estimating that the two proposals offered by the Senate Gang of Eight and Pres. Obama earlier this week will cost taxpayers trillions of dollars. He said the proposals are similar to the failed 2007 amnesty bill, which he estimated at the time to cost $2.5 trillion in Medicare and Social Security alone.
The IRS has announced that it is implementing new rules to its procedures for issuing Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) after a report from WTHR in Indianapolis last spring shed light on illegal aliens who use ITINs to commit tax fraud. The new rules will make it more difficult for individuals to obtain ITINs and shorten the length of time that ITINs are valid.
This just in from the Associated Press . . .
IRS supervisors reportedly ignored employees who warned against possible tax fraud being committed by illegal aliens. Earlier this year. WTHR in Indianapolis did an investigative report exposing a loophole that allows illegal aliens to request Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITIN) that can then be used to claim the child tax credit on their income tax forms. The IRS currently pays out $6.8 billion in refunds to tax filers using ITINs.
The ranking GOP members of the Senate Budget, Finance, Judiciary and Agriculture Committees accused the State and Homeland Security departments of prohibiting officials from considering the likelihood an individual would receive welfare benefits in determining whether to grant admission to an immigrant or change their immigration status.
On Tuesday, Sen. Vitter (R-La.) took the fight to end a massive tax loophole that allows illegal aliens to receive thousands of dollars in tax refunds to the Senate floor. The loophole allows anyone who has an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to claim children on their income tax filings, enabling them to receive up to a $1,000 tax credit for every child they list. Sen. Vitter's bill (S.577) would require anyone who claims the credit to have a valid Social Security number.
Last week, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling for an end to the Child Tax Care loophole that allows illegal aliens to receive thousands of dollars in tax refunds by filing with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. Sen. Sessions also criticized the administration's refusal to include mandatory E-Verify provisions in any of its jobs bills.
A report that aired on local television station WTHR in Indianapolis highlights an income tax loophole that is allowing illegal aliens to receive massive refunds from the IRS at the expense of U.S. taxpayers. According to the report, illegal aliens are filing false returns, claiming their own children, nieces, and nephews who, in some cases, don't even live in the United States to receive the alternate child tax credit. The cost to taxpayers is $4.2 billion per year.
Eyewitness News of Indiana's WTHR reveals a massive tax loophole that provides billions of dollars in tax credits to illegal aliens and people living in foreign countries. The loophole is called the Additional Child Tax Credit. It's a fully-refundable credit of up to $1000 per child, and it's meant to help working families who have children living at home. Eyewitness News has found many undocumented workers are claiming the tax credit for kids who live in Mexico.
The immigration questions asked during the MSNBC/Politico and CNN/Tea Party Republican presidential debates approached immigration from an ethnic perspective. The media missed the chance to press the eight candidates on the larger impacts of immigration policy. The debates follow a troubling pattern where the media and politicians fail to recognize immigration's interconnectedness with other issues. This is the third of four blogs concerning immigration-sustainability questions policy makers should address.
On June 10, 2011, Roy was a guest on CSPAN's "Washington Journal" to discuss immigration. Roy discussed the various state laws and the potential for a national E-Verify law, population growth, and the fiscal costs of mass immigration.
Judicial Watch has announced that it will challenge a policy enacted by the County College of Morris that offers in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens. In a letter sent to the college, Judicial Watch argues illegal aliens are generally ineligible for state and local public benefits such as discounted tuition under federal law.
A new study from the Center of Immigration Studies shows that 57% of households headed by an immigrant with children under the age of 18 receive some form of welfare. Only 39% of native born households with children receive welfare services. The study included households headed by both illegal and legal immigrants
What a political season we're living in! Overseas, the entire Middle East is exploding into revolution. We can only hope it leads to an improvement. And now right here in the U.S., state capitals are erupting in rancorous divisions over how to deal with huge budget shortfalls. At first blush, it looks like the issue of immigration doesn't figure that high with all the budget upheavals and foreign government changes, but keep reading . . .
Later this week, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) will be introducing the Strengthening Our Commitment to Legal Immigration and America's Security Act that would eliminate the Visa Lottery, strengthen interior enforcement, and require the implementation of an exit procedure for foreign visitors to the United States.
A new document released by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors reveals startling information on the money spent on social services for illegal aliens in 2010. According to the document $572 million worth of food stamp and welfare benefits went to illegal aliens in the first 11 months of 2010 -- 22% of the total social service benefits paid out by the county.
Illegal aliens finding it more and more difficult to live illegally in the United States because of increased enforcement and a sluggish economy are getting some help through a new foundation. Philanthropist Henry Buhl has established the Coalition to Protect American Workers that helps illegal aliens repatriate to their home countries, which in turn, opens up job opportunities for Americans.
The Center for Immigration Studies says passage of the DREAM Act would cost American taxpayers at least $6.2 billion per year. According to CIS, at least 1.2 million illegal aliens would enroll in public colleges and universities, qualifying for in-state tuition rates. The average $6,000 in-state tuition benefit would be subsidized to the taxpayers.
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) contacted the Congressional Budget Office today requesting a score of either the House version of the DREAM Act (H.R.1751) or the most recent Senate version (S.3992). Sen. Vitter's request is similar to one made last night by Ranking Member of the House Immigration Subcommittee Steve King. He followed up his request with a speech criticizing the bill on the floor of the Senate.
According to new state data in Utah, at least 10% of welfare benefits in the state are going to households that contain illegal aliens. Under state law, illegal aliens cannot qualify for welfare expenses, but because many of the children of illegal aliens were born in the United States and are citizens, along with other scenarios, illegal aliens are indeed receiving state benefits.
In an article published by Investor's Business Daily, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) writes that a mass amnesty will drain funds from Social Security despite claims by pro-amnesty supporters who say a mass amnesty will help Social Security over time.
In honor of yesterday's federal income tax filing deadline, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) wrote a column for The Hill and the Daily Caller, highlighting the high fiscal costs of illegal immigration and the impacts on American taxpayers.
I seem to have struck some nerves among the open-borders crowd with my reminder to Tea Party activists around the country that our immigration policies drive a lot of the increases in the size of government. The open-borders folks are howling that I said immigration policies drive growth in welfare use. To say such a thing, is "immigrant bashing," according to Frank Sharry in the massively read HuffingtonPost.com.
Approximately 1/2 of immigrant households (both legal and illegal) with kids access welfare services, primarily food and Medicaid. Many argue that immigration is a social issue, but it's a fiscal issue as well. Sign our petition urging Pres. Obama, Speaker of the House Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid to stop expanding our welfare system through high immigration numbers.
After spending three days in Nashville, it looks to me like the central driving force behind the Tea Party movement truly is a desire for less government. I went to observe and to make my case that for those who want to shrink government it isn't possible without reducing overall immigration (especially LEGAL). And the role of immigration in driving up the numbers of the uninsured is a case in point.
For those of you whose primary political interest is stopping the growth of government or even shrinking it, you have to contend with national leaders who say they agree with you but who refuse to deal with immigration. They say immigration is a "social" issue that isn't related to government spending and deficit issues. They couldn't be more wrong. . . .
The State of California will spend $1 billion in 2010 to jail illegal aliens, and there's little the state can do since the federal government is responsible for securing the nation's borders. The federal government will reimburse California $90 million as part of State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, but Pres. Obama is cutting the program's budget.
A report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal found that illegal aliens receiving dialysis treatment were costing the hospital more than $2 million per month. Nevada taxpayers are forced to pay for a situation that the report says "continues to worsen."
The Associated Press has just reported that, after the Hispanic Caucus confronted Pres. Obama at the White House this afternoon, the chair of the House Rules Committee indicated she is giving the Caucus what it wants: She indicated that the House will have to vote on a bill that allows illegal aliens to use the new health care "exchange" and that does not require verification to keep illegal aliens out of the other parts of the proposed new federal health care system.
Pres. Obama has scheduled a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for this (Thursday) afternoon, presumably to smooth the growing acrimony between the two parties over whether Obama should keep his promise to guarantee that illegal aliens won't be part of any new federal health care plan.
For the moment, I want to step back from questions of lying, sincerity and deception. The big picture for the week is that the President's pledge to Congress that illegal aliens will not benefit from his federal health plan has pretty well established that everybody who is anybody agrees that it would be wrong to include illegal aliens. That's a victory, folks.
Blue Dog Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have struck a deal with the House leadership that will prevent a floor vote on the health care reform bill before the August recess.
Oh, sure, they say it isn't true. But every indication says it is. Consider: Asked by Katie Couric if "illegal immigrants" should be covered under the emerging national health plan, Pres. Obama said "NO." But then he started giving exceptions that would cover about 98% of current illegal aliens. House leaders are playing the same game. Take a look . . .
A new study released by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) finds that illegal immigration costs the average Virginia household $625 per year. Virginia's illegal alien population is estimated to be 295,000, up by 300% since 2000.
If the government were really honest about paying for amnesty, they would do something like they did with the $700 billion bank bailout last October, (the TARP). The leaders of the government would come before the American voters and say, “We need $999 billion to pay for amnesty for people who entered the country illegally.”
A new Zogby International poll shows that Florida voters think that illegal immigration is hurting the Sunshine State by an overwhelming margin. A new FAIR study confirms the poll, finding that illegal immigration costs Florida taxpayers $3.8 billion annually, which is double from 2005.
