Bentley Says He Will Deny Illegal Immigrants Public Benefits - Truth Rating: 2 out of 5
Jul 29, 2010 | 6581 views | 19 
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert Bentley says he will deny illegal immigrants state benefits. Truth rating: 2 out of 5
ROBERT BENTLEY'S CLAIM: He will "deny illegal immigrants public benefits such as Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment insurance, public or assisted housing benefits, food assistance, and commercial licenses."
SUMMARY: Though states and local governments acquire costs because of illegal immigration, federal legislation bars unauthorized immigrants from the majority of federal and state benefits. The costs to states like Alabama come from services that are protected by national laws and court decisions, leaving states with few options for the restriction of benefits.
ANALYSIS: Many conservative pundits and organizations place the costs of welfare services to illegal immigrants in the billions. For more than 10 years, however, illegal immigrants have been ineligible for all but basic public benefits.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 prohibited illegal immigrants from any federal benefits. The benefits were defined as "any grant, contract, loan, professional license or commercial license provided by an agency of the United States or by appropriated funds of the United States." The law had only a few exceptions such as the use of emergency services, soup kitchens and disaster relief. The act, usually shortened to PRWORA, also made illegal immigrants ineligible for state benefits with the same exceptions as the federal regulations.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, even legal immigrants are not eligible for food stamps or Medicaid until five years after they arrive in the country. They are also not eligible for SSI until they become U.S. citizens. However, exceptions are made for groups such as children or people with disabilities.
How do agencies verify someone's immigration status? According to the Congressional Research Center, many agencies offering public benefits use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database. This software allows agency administrators to check an applicant's immigration documents with the records of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
A 2007 Congressional Budget Office report said local and state governments did suffer small losses providing services for illegal immigrants, but had few options to limit or minimize the losses. According to the report, the losses were concentrated in education, health care and law enforcement.
"Rules governing many federal programs, as well as decisions handed down by various courts, limit the authority of state and local governments to avoid or constrain the costs of providing services to unauthorized citizens," the report stated.
The CBO reported that states' expenses for covering unauthorized immigrants were a small percentage of the overall costs of the programs. The average was less than 5 percent. In California, the state with the highest level of illegal immigrants, it was less than 10 percent.
The Star's efforts to reach representatives with the Bentley campaign have been unsuccessful.
The Democrats know that many potential Democrat votes would keep them in power for years to come. That's all they're after - power. They don't care about anything else.
Your FOXX news is showing. I said the GOP and tea bags were the ones who "pretend to be on the side of America by God". No where in my comment did I say the Democrats were not involved with the border crossing that was just part of your FOXX fed knee jerk reaction to the truth. The GOP and tea teaers teaest are the only ones crying about stopping the flow by closing the border and sending everyone home. The Democrats and others are calling for immigration reform to make them all legal after they have lived here for so long as hard working, tax paying and law abiding Americans. Giving them the vote as US citizens. The GOP knows if 10-50 million, or how ever many there are here now, liberal minded latinos suddenly get the vote this would mean no more party of the rich. Then the GOP would have to reform itself to what it used to be, a party of the conservative working class and small business owning American.
Think I know you, or my wife does. AHS 1964?
I like what you say and agree with you.
No, The Tea Party and some reasonable conservative GOP members are for controlling our borders and going by the laws already on the books. Dims just don't get it!
Arizona has the guts to enforce these laws and the feds are upset and want to sue them for enforcing the laws they refuse to enforce.
This is simply a case of the coorporate elite controlling the federal government and that is called facism.
Taxpayers are paying for the New World Order to have slave labor and drive wages down. The taxpayers are being robbed again not by the illegals but the facist state called The United States of America.
The one important point to note is that in three months WE ALL have the opportunity to take authority and make changes that can really help our Country. It won't be absloute authority and that would be dangerous as we have seen that either Democrat or Republican with too much power is dangerous.
The problems discussed are trivial but the solution is complicated given the time it takes to make political changes and the tendency of politicians to fund their own agendas instead of fixing the issues affecting the people.
Please encourage everyone to vote in November and above all encourage a vote for conservative minded candidates.
Sir, that sure sounds like the same exact words a certain german man spoke years ago. Nobody gives unlimited authority. The only way to get unlimited authority is to take it, and I'm thinking you wont.
Do you suggest we let the illegals continue to break the law and stay and keep using fake ids and social security cards and such and keep receiving federal benefits illegally? Just because they had it rough in Mexico? Why don't you invite a few to live with you, since you're so keen on letting law breakers continue their ways.
If the feds would do their job, the states wouldn't have to try and do it for them.
Oh, and nice try on the personal attack...I kinda expected it,,,you libs are so predictable.
It's kind of like the horse sqeeze we keep calling the war on drugs. The druggies are the only ones fighting to win and killing. Give me 3 months and unlimited authority and I can eliminate 95% of the drugs in any state. Enforce the laws and tell the lawyers to kiss off and the druggies will self deport to another state.
By the way, RAJ, That doesn't sound like a name given to an American born citizen.... Are you LEGAL? Can we see some paperwork? Oh wait, this isn't Arizona.
Just because it's against the law doesn't mean they don't do it. After all, it's against the law to sneak into this country, and they didn't care about that, did they?
From fake ids to fake social security cards to fake drivers licenses, these illegals are getting the federal benefits that they don't deserve. And Bentley is as tired of it as the rest of us are.
This article is the first in what I'm sure will be a long series of anti-Bentley reports, thinly disguised as "fact checks".
The Star is firmly behind their man Sparks, and they know that Bentley has a good chance of beating him - a better chance than Byrne did.
Keep it up, Star.