Last month, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act, a $3 trillion “stimulus” bill that includes numerous provisions unrelated to stimulating the battered economy. While many are unaware the 1,815-page bill includes a cannabis banking reform provision, they do know it gives an amnesty, as well as other benefits, to illegal immigrants and a new poll shows they don’t like that at all.
A McLaughlin & Associates survey of likely voters taken May 21 to May 26 finds 61 percent of Americans disapprove (and 44 percent “strongly” disapprove) of giving “taxpayer funded health care including Medicare and Medicaid, to illegal immigrants for free.” That figure includes 40 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Independents. Conversely, only 34 percent approve of such a proposal,
The poll results are not that different from others taken last summer after most of the Democratic presidential primary candidates voiced support for using public healthcare funds to cover illegal immigrants. A Survey Monkey Audience poll asked about support for giving health care coverage “to all people living in the U.S., regardless of citizenship status.” Just 30 percent of respondents said they backed the idea, while 40 percent oppose or strongly opposed doing so.
The McLaughlin poll also asked voters whether illegal aliens and foreign nationals “should be allowed to receive the $1,200 direct cash payments” or whether only Americans should get the coronavirus relief money. An overwhelming 72 percent said only Americans should receive relief from the government, while a mere 21 percent were in favor of handouts to illegal immigrants.
Interestingly, a deeper dive shows Americans, regardless of party or ideology, want to prioritize relief funds for the 40 million unemployed Americans. Democrats oppose the proposal by a margin of 54 to 38 percent and self-identified liberal voters disapproved by 53 to 39 percent. While it is not surprising more than three-fourths of Republicans disliked the idea, 77 percent of Independents shared that view, as did voters without a college degree (74 percent) and those with a college degree (73 percent). In fact, no sub-group was in favor of handing cash to non-citizens.
The results should be reason for lawmakers and state legislators considering following the lead of California, Oregon, Connecticut and others by spending limited financial resources on illegal aliens to entirely abandon the misguided idea. Instead , they need to focus their energies on serving the interests of the hard-working Americans to whom they swore an oath to represent.
The poll also reflects that the amnesty included in the HEROES Act is not popular among hard-working Americans. Asked if, given the fact that 36 million Americans are unemployed, they would back “giving amnesty and citizenship to illegal immigrants who are in the United States” so that they could get jobs, 54 percent said no, while 35 percent strongly disagreed. Like the other outlandish suggestions to use taxpayer funds and resources to benefit illegal immigrants, a minority (37 percent) backed the amnesty included in the House-passed bill.
While special interests groups have been laboring for weeks to use the coronavirus pandemic to make political gains, it would seem in the eyes of hard-working Americans their efforts are less than heroic.