No sooner had illegal immigrants started signing up to collect the $500 check being doled out by the state of California, some state legislators issued a call to expand the state’s $75 million coronavirus relief fund. But the Golden State, as well as other jurisdictions pushing to sanction government aid to illegal aliens, could be out of luck if Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) has his way.
Days after the House passed legislation that would include amnesty and benefits for illegal aliens, Sen. Cotton introduced the No Bailouts for Illegal Aliens Act, a measure that would prohibit sending future coronavirus relief funds to states or municipalities unless they can certify that stimulus checks or other payments are not going to illegal immigrants.
“Congress passed the CARES Act to help workers impacted by the China virus pandemic, not to give a handout to those who broke our immigration laws. The federal government shouldn’t be subsidizing states’ efforts to send cash to illegal aliens,” Cotton said in a press release.
Specifically, the bill would amend the $8.3 trillion CARES Act so that future funds could not be allocated to those jurisdictions that refuse to comply with the certification requirement. The legislation would not affect the eligibility of any company or nonprofits where it relates to Paycheck Protection Program loans nor would it impact benefits and relief checks being sent to American citizens in those states and cities.
Other states and localities, including Connecticut, Oregon, Massachusetts, Seattle, Washington and Chicago, have also opened the financial door to illegal aliens at a time when food banks are experiencing a 70 percent increase in demand and many Americans cannot make ends meet.
While the CARES Act allowed some legal immigrants and visa holders to receive financial assistance, it did not reward illegal immigrants. So sanctuary states and jurisdictions decided to take their limited resources to create relief funds for illegal immigrants, rather than ensuring the needs of Americans were met first. The choice to take money from millions of Americans who are now first-time visitors to food banks spurred Cotton to act.
“We shouldn’t be spending hard-earned taxpayer dollars on illegal immigrants at a time when 35 million Americans are out of work,” the Arkansan told Fox News this week. “If we are going to be giving relief checks to those people who are out of work, we need to focus on American citizens, not illegal immigrants.”
Placing conditions on further federal aid is even more important now that Trump administration officials and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are warming up to another round of pandemic relief. In addition, many of those sanctuary jurisdictions are now demanding the federal government bail them out, which is why Cotton’s bill is so important.
For instance, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was the first governor to reward illegal aliens, has said Congress has a “moral and ethical obligation” to bail out the states and that without more money, he is now insisting police officers, firefighters and health care workers will be “the first ones to be laid off by cities and counties.”
Newsom was not forced to put illegal immigrants atop his list of priorities. On the other hand, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recognized that funds for illegal aliens may not be the best use of state funds. Newsom, and other sanctuary politicians, may soon learn the real consequences to his political choices.