The heavy hand of justice just came down a little harder on illegal immigration. The Department of Labor just warned all 50 governors to restrict migrants from getting unemployment benefits or risk losing federal grant money. “[I]t is critical that we ensure American taxpayer dollars do not go towards encouraging or rewarding illegal immigration to the United States,” Lori Chavez-DeRemer, secretary of Labor, wrote in a letter dated April 24, as reported by Daily Caller.
She continued: “Our nation’s unemployment benefits exist solely for workers who are eligible to receive them. To qualify for unemployment, one must be able and available to work, actively seeking work and be legally authorized to accept employment in the United States. Unemployment benefits are not a handout for those in our country illegally.”
It is not yet known how many migrants this will affect, but according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, “Since 2022, the average unemployment rate for recent immigrants has been around 7.6%, compared with 3.8% for U.S. natives and 3.3% for non-recent immigrants.
Employers have been urged to use the DHS immigration database to make sure claimants are legal citizens. The system “is a critical tool in the toolbox in ensuring that illegal immigrants do not access our nation’s unemployment benefits,” Chavez-DeRemer advised in the letter.
States that choose not to comply will risk losing their “Title III UI [Unemployment Insurance] administrative grant," she said. Washington state is one that seeks to undermine the federal government. Senator Rebecca Saldaña introduced a bill in January that would create a wage replacement program for illegals in the Evergreen State. There was a public hearing for it in February, and it currently sits and “awaits further action.”
“We know that inaction and hostility to the immigrant workforce is really harmful to a place like Washington state,” Saldaña said back in January. “It’s all the more reason why I believe, right now, is the time that we need a state program.”
There are more than 156,000 illegal migrants, not authorized to work in the US, who are employed in the Evergreen State.
Benefits for Migrants Rapidly Disappearing
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently axed programs that allowed illegal migrants to get government-funded housing. As Liberty Nation News reported, under the previous commander-in-chief, illegal immigrants were able to get assistance with low-income housing and even qualify for FHA mortgages. HUD Secretary Scott Turner wrote on X, “HUD is prioritizing Americans, not illegal aliens.”
And in another large blow to the undocumented, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said last week that the US Food and Drug Administration (USDA) is working on a process that will prevent illegal immigrants from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, otherwise known as food stamps.
According to the Economic Policy Innovation Center, the program provided benefits to 1.465 million noncitizens in 2022 (the most current data available from the USDA). “Another 2.2 million children living with noncitizens were also on Food Stamps,” the outlet explained. That comes out to a total of $4.2 billion in benefit payments.
California, unsurprisingly, led the way in enrolling noncitizens, with 273,000 in FY 2022, the site noted. Florida was next with 238,000. New York had 218,000, Texas 132,000, and Illinois 73,000. On the other end of the spectrum, Delaware, Mississippi, Montana, West Virginia, and Wyoming didn’t have any noncitizens reported on their food stamp programs.
As more so-called benefits are taken away from those in the country illegally, there’s less incentive for migrants to make their way across the border. Despite complaints from the left, President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration policies is deterring illegal border crossings.
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