Republican lawmakers are asking the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to calculate how much the House Democrats’ HEROES Act—a special interest wish list hiding in an economic stimulus bill that also provides illegal aliens with jobs, stimulus checks, and other benefits—will cost American taxpayers.
Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) recently sent a letter to the CBO asking for a review of the immigration provisions of the legislation.
The bill originally intended to serve as a coronavirus economic and health relief package for Americans, but open borders lawmakers exploited the legislation in order to implement their radical immigration agendas.
“It is unfortunate that instead of working to help the American people, Speaker Pelosi and her majority in the House of Representatives are taking this opportunity to advance the economic well-being of illegal immigrants,” the letter read.
The HEROES Act is a $2.2 trillion bill that grants numerous economic and job benefits to potentially some 14 million illegal aliens in the country.
It does some of the following:
- Grants protections to employers who hire illegal aliens “engaged in essential critical infrastructure labor or services in the United States.”
- Provides deportation protections and work authorization to illegal aliens who are “engaged in essential critical infrastructure labor or services in the United States.”
- Awards a second round of stimulus checks—including $1,200 per adult and $500 per dependent—to those without a Social Security number. Only an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is required.
- Prohibits the Department of Justice from withholding federal funding from sanctuary cities—cities that prohibit the cooperation of local and state law enforcement with federal immigration authorities.
- Demands the release of almost all Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees, resulting in a near-cessation of immigration enforcement.
These radical provisions impose fiscal burdens on the American taxpayer and are likely to incentivize more illegal immigration. Additionally, it denies employment and funding opportunities from Americans who continue to suffer from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill also comes at a time where illegal immigration costs American taxpayers more than $131 billion annually.
It is unclear what exact costs these provisions will bring to American taxpayers, (hence the request by the Senators to calculate them) but what is clear is that the Democratic Party’s immigration priorities are not serving the interests of hardworking and economically displaced Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
