The Truth About Immigration: Welfare
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With all of Donald Trump’s hyperbole about migrants coming to the United States, it’s important to understand the truth that lies beneath the surface of his rhetoric. In this installment of “The Truth About Immigration,” we’ll be looking at the facts surrounding migrants and government assistance.
Recently, you may have heard about the amount of government assistance used by immigrants, both legal and illegal, upon arrival in the United States. It’s an argument many on the far-right fall back on when discussing immigration. As loud as they are about the issue, the arguments made are mostly false and purely rhetorical.
Asylum seekers normally would receive some government assistance to help keep them going until they find employment. They include very little financial assistance, medical assistance based on necessity, employment preparation, job placement, and English language training. Benefits that are limited to about the first 8 months in the country or until they have found employment.
The costs of these benefits once ran about $500 million yearly. When compared to the $2 billion that Trump’s illegal and immoral policies have cost Americans in just the last few months — not including the $200 million dollar stunt sending troops at the border for one month — assisting asylum seekers is not just fiscally sound policy, but the moral implications they carry are those which the United States is supposed to stand for.
Now, the Trump administration has cut funding to those programs in order to fund the mass incarceration of those who attempt to come to this country legally. Trump’s policies have granted fewer visas, approved fewer refugees, ordered the removal of hundreds of thousands of legal residents whose home countries have been hit by war and natural disasters, and tried to push Congress to pass laws to dramatically cut the entire legal immigration system.
While he and his supporters claim that they support legal immigration, his policies and their support of them dictate otherwise.
Immigrants On Welfare
Some would argue that the welfare system is bloated with benefits too large and too widely dispersed. But one thing is abundantly clear, it’s not because of migrants. The reality is that…
