Refugees should not be a “public charge”
says reader, by Ann
Corcoran on August 4, 2016
Editor: This is
another good guest commentary (two others in the last week may be found by clicking here). We welcome guest
writers because a) the issue is too large for me to cover it all, and b) some
great writers and investigators are developing across the country and they need
to be heard! Emphasis below is mine.
REFUGEES AND THE “PUBLIC CHARGE” by Bob Enos (Willmar, MN)
The tradition
of immigration in America historically contains a concept known as the “public
charge”. As the purpose of immigration in America was purely to build the
American nation, all new entrants have been expected to “sing for their
supper”. That is, we were expected to take advantage of the opportunities
America provides to build a better life, while not becoming a burden to our
fellow Americans.
Today, the public charge concept continues to
be an element of federal immigration law, but it has been watered down. It also
provides exceptions to certain classes of immigrants.
First, there
are myriad forms of taxpayer-funded assistance that our federal legislators
have decreed are not really burdensome to taxpayers after all. They include:
Section 8 housing; health insurance; food stamps; child care; public schools;
and institutionalization.
These non-cash
public assistance programs can and often do exceed the low wages that unskilled
workers earn, even full-time workers.
Second, under Section 213A of the federal Immigration and
Naturalization Act, both refugees and asylum seekers are actually excused and exempted from
any federal requirement to be self-supporting! This means that, unlike other immigrant classes who are
required to earn a livelihood in order to avoid possible deportation, the
refugee has no such worry.
In short, if a
refugee is deported, it will NEVER be due to the financial burden s/he places
upon the rest of us!
As pressure builds for comprehensive
immigration reform, legislators in Washington MUST address (a) eliminating the
exclusion and exemption of refugees and asylum seekers from the public charge
test, and (b) the expanding the definition of public charge burdens to include
not only cash welfare payment, but non-cash assistance as well. Let me know if you have something you
wish to share by responding in a comment to this post. I’ll contact you
and tell you how to send your short
submission!
Comments
It
started when Liberals insisted that illegals receive medical treatment at
emergency rooms, even though they couldn’t pay.
They also insisted that illegals be eligible to use our public schools. Liberals act incrementally. Now illegals can access food stamps and rent
subsidies and every other welfare benefit plus a big check every year for
Earned Income Credit fraud, claiming dependents in other countries.
The end
result has been an explosion in costs for these welfare benefits. We need to stop all immigration until more of
our unemployed US citizens can find work and lift themselves out of poverty.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
No comments:
Post a Comment