[quote=FlyerInHi]Wow, Lindsey Graham was pretty scathing in his criticism of Trump.
[/quote]
I listened to the video, FIH. Among other inaccuracies, he states (in essence), “We cannot deport the grandmother of an American citizen who (may have) served in the military when they’ve done nothing but violate the immigration laws of this country …. and still retain the `Hispanic’ vote. Many `illegal aliens’ have been here a decade or more …”
Umm, the bolded portion of that statement (among others he made on the video) is highly inaccurate. That “illegal-alien grandparent” very likely did not have 40-quarters (or any quarters at all, for that matter) of bona-fide “work” in this country to qualify for OASDI (Social Security). Thus, many in this country illegally have successfully applied for and NOW RECEIVE Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments every month and could very well have been doing so for well over 20 years by now!
. . . UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS MAY A “QUALIFIED ALIEN” BE ELIGIBLE FOR SSI BENEFITS?
If you are in one of the seven “qualified alien” categories listed above, you may be eligible for SSI if you also meet one of the following conditions:
1. You were receiving SSI and lawfully residing in the U.S. on August 22, 1996; . . . .
You may receive SSI for a maximum of seven years from the date DHS granted you immigration status in one of the following categories, and the status was granted within seven years of filing for SSI:
5. Refugee under Section 207 of the INA;
* Asylee under Section 208 of the INA;
* Alien whose deportation was withheld under Section 243(h) of the INA or whose removal is withheld under Section 241(b)(3) of the INA;
* Cuban or Haitian entrant” under Section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 or in a status that is to be treated as a “Cuban/ Haitian entrant” for SSI purposes; or
* “Amerasian immigrant” pursuant to P.L. 100-202, with a class of admission of AM-1 through AM-8.. . .
Also, who has been paying the medical bills of this group who ostensibly lived with relatives (some in the US legally) over the years? Did those residing in SoCal go back to Tijuana for routine medical care? Where did they go if they had a medical emergency? The following article, dated December 2014, explains the recent “amnesty law” applicable to members of the group Graham is referring to who apparently are now eligible for Medicare and Social Security without ever working one day in this country or putting one red cent into the “system” (never had any FICA deductions due to either only working “under the table” or never working at all):
. . .In a speech to the nation on November 20, the president extended amnesty to approximately five million illegal aliens who have been in the country more than five years, and/or have children who are American citizens, pass a criminal background check, and pay their fair share of taxes, although it’s unclear how the latter would be calculated.
The Department of Homeland Security is already seeking to hire 1,000 new permanent employees in Virginia to process millions of amnesty applications from illegal immigrants, which will culminate in their receiving Social Security numbers and green card work permits. Obama’s amnesty would be unprecedented if, unlike most government programs, it actually stays within its original cost and scope parameters. . .
The millions of dollars (billions?) in SSI, OASDI and Medicare benefits being paid to (undeserving) “illegal aliens” who are now “senior citizens” is not “nothing” as Graham indirectly alleges in the video. Of course, in his position, he must know better but is attempting to appeal to the emotions of the low-information voter.
The “Mexican grandparent” example made by Graham in the video is just the tip of the iceberg. There are other groups of senior-citizens and almost senior-citizens who came here legally in the last 40 years by the tens of thousands off the “sponsorship” of the military-member former spouse of their child. (The sponsor is now a “former spouse” because the American citizen military sponsor was often discarded AFTER the green card paperwork was successfully processed for 2, 4, 6 or even 8+ relatives of his foreign spouse (whom he “sponsored” for US citizenship with his SSN).
I know this from plenty of IRL experience and also the fact that Rep Bob Filner employed a clerk in his longtime office in South County SD for many years when he was our Rep in Congress. Her primary duty was to assist these (mostly Filipino) “constituents” with their applications for SSI and follow up on them until they began to receive payments. Many of these aging immigrants had been rendered homeless by the divorce of their child from the sponsor and/or foreclosure of the family home they were all residing in and had no means by which to support themselves.
So much for the the “sponsors” (including the newly-naturalized wives legally bringing over as many relatives as possible) being held to their sworn statement to the INS that they will support their parents in the US until they die (as a condition of bringing them here legally). Practically speaking, it seems that no sponsors are held to that promise, leaving US taxpayers to foot the bill for their support.
Many of the rules and regs of Homeland Security/INS need to be fixed and the loopholes closed up tight. They’re patently unfair to the US-citizen worker who has been making legitimate FICA contributions their entire lives and may never see a payback coming their way when they most need it due to the OASDI fund running out before they age into the program :=0
