United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under President Joe Biden has become a joke compared to the once great institution it once was. With scores of illegal immigrants who have forced their way across the border, and thousands more awaiting the end of Title 42, USCIS needs to get prepared for the influx of immigration.
In early 2020, President Trump finalized a new federal regulation that many thought unfairly targeted Hispanics. It made it less likely for foreign nationals to secure a green card and permanently reside in the US if they had used programs such as welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, or housing programs – all funded by taxpayers.
This policy from President Trump was popular with many Americans. Roughly 6/10 Americans surveyed approved ending the legal immigration of welfare-dependent people. 56 percent of Hispanics supported it, and an astonishing 71 percent of black Americans supported it, too. A figure like this isn’t just a sign that President Trump was right, it was a sign that taxpayers are tired of paying for freeloaders.
And it’s not as though the US is unique in this regard. Countless European countries require immigrants to prove that they are financially capable of supporting themselves before allowing them into the country. Why? The government doesn’t want to support MORE people than absolutely necessary. It’s the fiscally responsible thing to do.
Naturally, when President Biden assumed office, he threw this regulation out the window and rolled out the red carpet for the welfare-dependent to immigrate to the US. By making it easier for them to stay here and become citizens, he has essentially shackled the bill to the US taxpayer and told us that we are responsible for them getting to enjoy the freedom that the US provides. It would become our responsibility to give them the American dream, instead of letting them earn it.
Just before Christmas, the USCIS began working with Biden’s latest change that explicitly says that foreign nationals with a history of being reliant on welfare programs will not be prevented from getting green cards. According to the agency, “[Department of Homeland Security] will not consider receipt of noncash benefits (for example, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, public housing, school lunch programs, etc.) other than long-term institutionalization at government expense.”
Back in 2017, the National Academies of Science issued a report about the cost of immigrant households on welfare versus citizens. In the report, they uncovered that each taxpayer is being billed $1,600 each year per immigrant receiving welfare. They also discovered that they would take 33 percent more in cash subsidies than their citizen components.
The Center for Immigration Studies conducted a similar study as well. There, they uncovered that 63 percent of noncitizen households were using some form of welfare. Meanwhile, native-born citizens are only at 35 percent. Representing a nearly twofold percentage, the noncitizen households are making up a major hit to the American taxpayer.
As it stands, the US grants 1.2 million foreign nationals green cards every year, and 1.4 million work visas to take away American jobs from US citizens. These figures may sound small when you look at the population of the United States, but they add up quickly. When you consider how many illegal immigrants get across the border and take under-the-table jobs, it represents a significant blow to the US economy.
In early December, Rasmussen Reports conducted a survey about immigration. Overwhelmingly, a 69 percent majority wants to see the US shrink our immigration numbers. Even stronger than that, 36 percent want to see the numbers the US is allowing into the country be cut in half or more.
Let’s face facts, people. These countries largely aren’t letting their best and brightest come to the US. While a few surgeons, talented scientists, and chemists slip through, the vast majority have no skills, no education, and little ambition to get them. The minimal money they get here in the US keeps them alive better than they had at home, and they can still send money back to support the rest of the family. When they become citizens, they sponsor each other to get the whole family over here. It’s time to end it.
