Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced the “No Bailouts for Illegal Aliens Act” Monday which will make states sending money to illegal aliens ineligible for federal funds.
The legislation Cotton authored, if passed, will amend the “American Rescue Plan Act” in order to “withhold funding authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act from any State or unit of local government that provides relief funds or monetary payments through a program exclusively targeting illegal immigrants.”
“Some local governments are offering illegal immigrants thousands of dollars for jobs they lost during the pandemic—jobs that belong to Americans in the first place,” Cotton said in a statement. “The federal government shouldn’t subsidize state efforts to send cash to illegal immigrants.”
Last week, Breitbart News reported New York’s one-party government struck a budget deal that shifts $2.1 billion in taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens who lost their jobs during the coronavirus lockdowns. The aid to illegal aliens is $1.1 billion more than tax credits and grants authorized for small businesses in the state.
Breitbart News reported estimates of about 187,000 illegal aliens who will eligible for the benefits. Each could receive a one-time payment of up to $15,600, or about $325 a week for the entire year.
The Republican’s press release also stated that the bill is not intended to affect the Paycheck Protection Program loan program, which is offered to companies and nonprofit organizations. In addition, the legislation will not affect any of the unemployment provisions or the relief checks that are offered to qualified Americans under the American Rescue Plan Act.
The bill is intended to affect “the states and municipalities that refuse to comply with the certification requirement, which the legislation will deem them not eligible for American Rescue Plan Act funds.”