Thursday, May 05, 2016

Half of immigrant-led households collect welfare as admission rules go unenforced

Half of immigrant-led households collect welfare as admission rules go unenforced - Washington Times:
"Immigrants are supposed to be beneficial to the U.S. — so much so that federal law requires them to prove they won’t end up on the public dole if they are legally admitted.
But it’s a stricture honored more in the breach than in compliance, according to statistics obtained by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which found that of the millions of legal immigrants living in the U.S. and collecting welfare or other public benefits, only a single person was kicked out of the country over the last three years for becoming a public burden.
...No enforcement means more impoverished immigrants willing to test their chances, said Ian Smith, the FAIR investigator who obtained the data.
“Like all removal grounds, they’re supposed to deter that behavior, and it’s there to make sure that [those] people come into this country are at least somewhat desirable,” he said.
“It was supposed to be a filtration mechanism.
It’s like anything.
If you don’t enforce it, the deterrence element gets turned off.”
...Immigrants from Mexico and Central America have the highest rate, with nearly three-quarters using at least one program. 
The Caribbean is second, with a 51 percent use rate..."

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