Taxpayer Funded Benefits for Illegal Aliens

POST-GAZETTE - Res Publica

Taxpayer Funded Benefits for Illegal Aliens

by David Trumbull

June 16, 2006

This just in from Massachusetts Senator Bob Hedlund (R, Weymouth) about three Budget Amendments that concern illegal immigration. To recap the Amendments:

#181 updates state penalties on employers who hire illegal aliens and creates a toll-free anonymous hotline to report any suspected violations of unlawful employment of illegal aliens.

#346 requires housing authorities to verify the immigration status and preclude illegal aliens from state subsidized public housing. (There are an estimated 49,000 citizens on the waiting list!)

#695 allows court personnel to verify immigration status of defendants at the arraignment stage of a court proceeding.

Senator Hedlund emphasizes the all three amendments were included in the Senate budget but not in the House budget. A conference committee is meeting now to draft the final budget. Please call the six members of the conference committee (listed below) to ask them to include these amendments to the final budget.

Evidently, because there are many House members who think illegal immigration is beneficial to the Commonwealth and that illegal immigrants should enjoy all the benefits of citizenship, Hedlund fears they will leave out these amendments unless they get a lot of phone calls. He also told us that many special interest pro-illegal alien groups had been cruising around the State House lobbying legislators to vote against these amendments.

The Conference Committee members are:

***

Also in the news. On June 12 Senator John Kerry announced his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2006. To those who criticize this cut-and-run strategy, Senator Kerry explained that his plan also calls for our troops to remain in Iraq beyond the end of the year until the mission is finished. Folks, I can't make this stuff up!. You can read it on Mr. Kerry's U.S. Senate website.

***

Finally, congratulations to Sal LaMattina, the newly elected Boston City Councillor for Charlestown, East Boston, North End, West End, and Beacon Hill.

--30--