In an egregious example of fake news, The Boston Globe recently blurred the line between reporting and editorializing to complain that illegal aliens will not receive any financial aid from the $2 trillion stimulus package passed by the federal government last month. Under this package, most adults in the United States will receive $1,200 to help them through the COVID-19 crisis. However, the newspaper complains that “not a penny will go to millions of undocumented immigrants, many of whom work in the hardest-hit industries of restaurants, hospitality, and retail.” This is a distortedly bad take.
The article in question was co-authored by a reporter and a columnist in a blatant attempt to portray illegal aliens as among the most vulnerable during this crisis. In their reasoning that illegal alien adults should also receive $1,200 each, they claim that 5 percent of the labor force in Massachusetts is illegal and that they still pay taxes – a misleading argument that the open-borders lobby regularly deploys.
The truth is, many illegal aliens work “off the books” in the underground economy and don’t pay any taxes on their income (although they do pay sales taxes and some property taxes indirectly through rent). And for those who do, the amount they contribute pales in comparison to what Americans pay for their upkeep. In Massachusetts, illegal aliens and their children cost taxpayers more than $2 billion annually. It would be nice if the authors told the full story, rather than just the details that benefit their open-borders agenda.
In addition, there were more than 100,000 unemployed people in Massachusetts even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to close. All of those jobs in Massachusetts taken by illegal aliens should belong to Americans and lawful residents. Considering that the unemployment rate could increase to 20 percent nationwide by the end of this pandemic, Americans need those opportunities more than ever. So, if additional money is going to be put into the coronavirus relief effort, it should go to American citizens who have just lost their jobs, not those who don’t even have a legal right to be here.
The United States is facing its biggest challenge of the 21st century, and millions of Americans are suddenly unsure of how they’re even going to put food on the table. When allocating scarce resources to assist people suffering from this crisis, it is perfectly reasonable to prioritize the needs of citizens and legal residents over those of people who are here illegally. That is exactly what Congress consciously did when they approved the $2 trillion stimulus package, which excluded illegal aliens from receiving payments.
