I don’t know whether to feel sorry for President Trump who has had to fight Republicans as well as Democrats as far as immigration and the wall is concerned or whether I should feel grateful that we have someone like Trump, who will fight on even when he is all alone in the battle.
Perhaps it’s a large portion of both. But, on Thursday, the president acted on his own again to cut off welfare programs for illegal aliens. In this country, we used to force all immigrants to prove the ability to support themselves, rather than placing the burden on the American taxpayers.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a memorandum Thursday enforcing restrictions on welfare benefits for non-citizens, The Daily Caller has learned.
The memo directs government agencies to enforce legislation signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 that requires sponsors of immigrants to the U.S. to reimburse the government for any welfare benefits received by the person they are sponsoring.
Immigrant sponsors will be informed by agencies that they are required to pay back the money, and that they will be sent to collections if they fail to do so. Agencies will have 90 days to update their guidance and will report back to the president on their progress in 180 days.
Sponsor repayment of welfare benefits was enacted under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, but has remained largely unenforced. The bill was sponsored by Democratic Sens. Patrick Leahy and Patty Murray.
“This executive action will dramatically curb ‘welfare tourism’ and protect U.S. benefits for U.S. families,” a senior administration official told The Daily Caller. “It will also ensure that immigrant sponsors cannot continue the practice of bringing in large numbers of welfare-dependent immigrants: because they will be financially liable.”