States to Illegal Aliens: Welcome

Many states are offering illegal immigrants a host of goodie bags brimming with benefits at the expense of the American taxpayer. These states are putting their security at risk and undermining federal efforts to control illegal immigration.

States “need to decide, are they going to be in the business of discouraging or encouraging illegal immigration?” said Jon Feere, legal policy analyst at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Though technically a federal issue, when it comes to immigration, “states absolutely have a role to play,” Feere said.

Unfortunately, many states have decided to go into the business of encouraging illegal immigration.

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Some 605,000 of the roughly 1.4 million drivers’ licenses issued in California last year went to illegal immigrants.

Not only did the state allow aliens to obtain licenses — they actively encouraged it.

After the passage of Assembly Bill 60 on Jan. 2, 2015, the California Department of Motor Vehicles embarked on a widespread information campaign, holding 200 community outreach events at a variety of locations, issuing Spanish-language messages on social media and creating a new page on their website dedicated to the new law.

The cost of this outreach — coupled with the cost of processing the new applicants — is estimated at $141 million over three years. Of course, this cost will be borne by the legal citizens of California. While California clearly wants illegal immigrants to drive, it hasn’t yet made any efforts to require those immigrants to pay taxes.

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California isn’t the only state that offers drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia all provide illegal immigrants with licenses.

Worse still, California and Oregon both enacted so-called “Motor Voter” laws in 2015, allowing for automatic voter registration upon obtaining a driver’s license. The California law did not mandate that the DMV database distinguish between illegal immigrant and citizen licenses, allowing for the potential that illegal immigrants could end up voting.

The progressive paradox of states legally providing for people whose very presence in those states is in and of itself illegal is not confined to driver’s licenses. Five states — California, Maine, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — offer a version of the Federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to illegal immigrants who meet certain qualifications. Washington and Maine also offer food stamps to certain illegal immigrants.

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Some states actually think spending their citizens’ tax dollars on a college education for illegal immigrants is a good use of public funds. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin allow illegal immigrant students to qualify for in-state tuition. California, Illinois, New Mexico, and Texas provide those students with access to further financial aid programs.

Many states also effectively encourage private employers to hire illegal immigrants by refusing to mandate the use of the E-Verify system, which verifies eligibility to work. Politicians can talk about strengthening the E-Verify system as much as they want, but if states do not require private businesses to use it, it doesn’t matter how strong a system it is.

Only six states require all or nearly all businesses to use E-Verify to check employment status — Arizona, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina. Twelve other states require its use only by some or all public employers or contractors. Two states — California and Illinois — have laws on the books actively prohibiting E-Verify compliance in some cases.

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While some states, such as Colorado, have their own measures in place to prevent private businesses from hiring illegal aliens, they do not mandate use of the E-Verify system.

One might recoil at the brazenness of the states that actively and willingly put Americans’ jobs and safety at risk by catering to illegal immigrants, but every state in the country is in effect forced to provide a de facto benefit to illegal aliens.

It comes in the form of K-12 education, to which illegal immigrant children became legally entitled after the constitutionally dubious 1982 Plyler vs. Doe Supreme Court decision. In California in 2014 alone, educating illegal immigrant children left taxpayers there with a bill totaling about $12.3 billion.

Ultimately, illegal immigration is a federal issue. But it’s incredibly difficult to control illegal immigration when the country has become a piñata in the eyes of the huddled masses south of the border. They know if they break our barrier, free stuff will come out.

Is it any wonder so many of them try?