The verdict on providing COVID relief funds to illegal aliens is tied\n1-1 in the courts, for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A U.S. district court in Maryland last week ruled that a Montgomery County program to provide $10 million in cash payments to illegal aliens likely violates federal law and irreparably harms county taxpayers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nwatchdog group Judicial Watch sued the county, arguing that the Emergency\nAssistance Relief Payment Program (EARP) was illegal, in part because the\nMaryland Legislature had not authorized localities to provide benefits to\nunlawfully present aliens. The\ncourt, however, denied a request for a temporary restraining order. Instead, it\ndirected the county to retain at least 25 percent of any unspent funds until\nthe court could fully consider the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Judicial Watch hailed the court for \u201cpushing back on the abuse by county officials who want to send taxpayer coronavirus money to illegal aliens in violation of federal law.\u201d Montgomery County is a longtime sanctuary jurisdiction<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier, the California Supreme Court summarily rejected a challenge to Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s allocation of $75 million to illegal aliens<\/a> affected by the coronavirus pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As in the Maryland case, opponents argued that the funds had not been authorized by the Legislature, and violated federal law. California\u2019s high court dismissed the lawsuit in a brief order<\/a> without explanation. Evidently, it bought Newsom\u2019s line that his program was \u201clegally justified and morally necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Side note: While the justices didn\u2019t do anything to slow the governor, the state\u2019s online enrollment system crashed under a crush of applicants on the first day. It\u2019s back up now, and California\u2019s $54.3 billion budget shortfall<\/a> goes a few million dollars deeper.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spending COVID relief dollars on illegal aliens doesn\u2019t go over well with the American public. Last week, FAIR reported that a McLaughlin survey<\/a> found 72 percent of respondents opposed such disbursements. Even 53 percent of voters who identified themselves as \u201cliberal\u201d disapproved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Undaunted, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted last month to provide billions in emergency aid to illegal aliens through the HEROES Act<\/a>. But there\u2019s virtually no chance such a package will survive in the Republican Senate, where GOP leaders declared it \u201cdead on arrival.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n So, as usual, it\u2019s back to the courts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The verdict on providing COVID relief funds to illegal aliens is tied 1-1 in the courts, for now. A U.S. district court in Maryland last week ruled that a Montgomery County program to provide $10 million in cash payments to illegal aliens likely violates federal law and irreparably harms county taxpayers. The watchdog group Judicial<\/p>\n
\n
\nThe court tentatively agreed, ruling that, \u201cBased on an analysis of the federal\nstatute alone, the court concludes that plaintiffs have demonstrated a strong\nlikelihood of success on the merits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n