President Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday cracking down on welfare-dependent legal immigration to the United States in an effort to protect American taxpayers.
The order signed by Trump will enforce existing 1996 laws known as the “Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act” and “Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act” which were signed by then-President Bill Clinton. The order ensures that federal agencies will enforce the existing 1996 laws which seek to save American taxpayers by having their public welfare funding benefits reimbursed when they are used by a legal immigrant.
The first function of the order mandates that a family member or business sponsor of a legal immigrant looking to permanently resettle in the U.S. is responsible for paying back the welfare costs previously used by that immigrant.
For example, if a visa holder has used $10,000 in food stamp benefits while living in the U.S., when a family member sponsors them for a green card, that family member will be notified of the legal immigrant’s welfare costs to taxpayers and obligated to pay back the amount.
If the sponsor of a legal immigrant does not pay the welfare cost, the Treasury Offset Program will take the money out of the sponsor’s taxes for that year. Federal officials said implementation of this order would begin in September.
A senior administration official told Breitbart News that the order to enforce Clinton’s 1996 law will drive down welfare-dependent legal immigration to the U.S. which has cost American taxpayers billions over the years.
“This is a historic, transformative action to restore the foundational principle of U.S. immigration law: that those seeking to join our society must support themselves financially,” the official said.
“This executive action will dramatically curb ‘welfare tourism’ and protect U.S. benefits for U.S. families,” the official continued. “It will also ensure that immigrant sponsors cannot continue the practice of bringing in large numbers of welfare-dependent immigrants: because they will be financially liable. Congress passed these laws – but they were effectively never used. Now they will be.”
The second function of the order ensures that the income a sponsor to a legal immigrant is taken into consideration when a legal immigrant is applying for federal welfare.
Currently, only the income of legal immigrants is considered by federal agencies when the national is applying for public benefits. Under the rules set out by Clinton’s 1996 law, the Trump administration will make certain that the income of both the legal immigrant and their sponsor is considered when applying for benefits.
“Newcomers will not be able to live on free federal healthcare, housing, and other welfare at taxpayer expense,” the senior official said.
A senior administration official said Trump’s order also will help prevent illegal aliens from obtaining federal welfare benefits.
As Breitbart News reported, a similar regulatory change known as the “public charge” rule is set to be implemented and enforced this year which would effectively save American taxpayers billions in public dollars by banning foreign nationals from permanently resettling in the U.S. if they have previously used welfare.
Currently, there is an estimated record high of 44.5 million foreign-born residents living in the U.S. This is nearly quadruple the immigrant population in 2000. The vast majority of those arriving in the country every year are low-skilled legal immigrants who compete against working and middle-class Americans for jobs.
Legal immigration controls to prevent welfare-dependent nationals from permanently resettling in the U.S. would be a boon for American taxpayers in the form of an annual $57.4 billion tax cut — the amount taxpayers spend every year on paying for the welfare, crime, and schooling costs of the country’s mass importation of 1.5 million new, mostly low-skilled legal immigrants.
As Breitbart News reported, the majority of the more than 1.5 million foreign nationals entering the country every year use about 57 percent more food stamps than the average native-born American household. Overall, immigrant households consume 33 percent more cash welfare than American citizen households and 44 percent more in Medicaid dollars. This straining of public services by the foreign-born population translates to the average immigrant household costing American taxpayers $6,234 in federal welfare.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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