Congress Can't Even Hand Cash to Americans Without Leftists Demanding Illegals Get Some, Too
There was plenty of sturm und drang about who ended up getting what in the massive $2 trillion relief package Congress passed before it was finally signed by President Donald Trump on Saturday.
There’ll still be plenty of debate over whether or not the money is going to the right place. There’s one thing I think we all should agree on, though: The relief package should only include checks to American citizens.
We should. We don’t. And while it’s some of our politicians that are saying this, there are also a lot of non-governmental organizations that are saying it, as well.
If you think it’s fringe voices putting this forth, it’s also probably worth noting that fringe voices are taking more and more oxygen when it comes to politics on the left.
Take New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the House Financial Services Committee and star of the freshman class of 2019 — if more in terms of media coverage than in actual achievement — who protested that immigrants both legally and illegally in this country don’t get a $1,200 check from the plan.
“To clarify, $1200 checks are ONLY going to some w/social sec numbers, NOT immigrants w/ tax IDs (ITINs),” she tweeted Thursday, referring to individual taxpayer identification numbers, a program that allows immigrants — including those here illegally — to pay their federal income taxes.
“Thanks to GOP, these checks will be cut off the backs of *taxpaying immigrants,* who get nothing. Many are essential workers who pay more taxes than Amazon. Wall St gets $4T.”
To clarify, $1200 checks are ONLY going to some w/social sec numbers, NOT immigrants w/ tax IDs (ITINs).
Thanks to GOP, these checks will be cut off the backs of *taxpaying immigrants,* who get nothing. Many are essential workers who pay more taxes than Amazon.
Wall St gets $4T
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 26, 2020
At least she kept her protest to immigrants paying federal taxes, however. Fellow “squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan came up with her own plan that would give $2,000 on a debit card, with $1,000 added for every month until a year after the crisis ends, to individuals “including undocumented people, permanent residents, and temporary visitors whose stay exceeds three months.”
That wasn’t the most insane part of the plan, though: She wanted to pay for it with two $1 trillion coins.
I fully support the @FSCDems #COVID19 economic response proposal. I also want to encourage leadership to consider my truly universal relief proposal on behalf of #13thDistrictStrong.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) March 21, 2020
This includes the Treasury using its legal authority to create a new mint program to fund:
✅Direct payments via preloaded $2,000 cash cards to everyone.
✅Recharging with $1,000/month until a year after the economy recovers.Read all about it here: https://t.co/JJI0z2bNFy
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) March 21, 2020
It is important to note: With this proposal, we will NOT require the government to issue more debt.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) March 21, 2020
You would think, given those tweets, that she was hiding how she planned to pay for the bill. On the contrary, she practically invented (or, your dad might say, coined) the hashtag #MintTheCoin to promote it:
Hey @realDonaldTrump, let’s provide relief from this crisis for people by giving pre-loaded debit cards to every person in America. No additional debt—we’ll just mint two coins.#ABCAct #MintTheCoinhttps://t.co/v0gtfjBw7L
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) March 21, 2020
These were two of the voices in Congress who were promoting relief checks to illegal immigrants. There were plenty of extra-governmental organizations promoting the idea, as well. Breitbart managed to collect a few of these gems, including one from Marielena Hincapié of the George Soros-backed United We Dream:
Everyone, regardless of immigration status, must have access to testing, medical care & financial relief. Congress must ensure that all Americans can focus on keeping their families & communities safe & healthy. #stimulusbill
— National Immigrant Justice Center (@NIJC) March 27, 2020
LET’S BE CLEAR:
The Corona stimulus package fails immigrant communities. It fails to include ALL people when it comes to financial and health care access. Regardless of status, we are all trying to get through the pandemic.
— United We Dream (@UNITEDWEDREAM) March 27, 2020
Protect the vulnerable, not the wealthy – not corporations.
An immigration status and a 9 digit number (SSN) should not be used to determine who is worthy of aid.
As we face #COVID2019 we must prioritize the most vulnerable – including our undocumented community#stimulusbill
— Josue De Luna Navarro (@Josue_DeLuna) March 27, 2020
Now, more than ever, our health & well-being are interconnected. Immigrants are working overtime to put food on our tables, bolster our health care sector, & care for our loved ones.
Any #COVID19 economic stimulus that excludes #immigrants puts us ALL at risk.1/ pic.twitter.com/HJcQyBpWpZ
— Marielena Hincapié (@MarielenaNILC) March 23, 2020
Some of these individuals thought the money should go to illegal immigrants who had individual taxpayer identification numbers. Some of them didn’t. The general tenor of everything was, however, that it was time to put more non-Americans on the dole, regardless of whether they were in the country legally.
The Democratic mainstream understood, at a basic level, that this would be unacceptable to the average voter. Even in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s wish list plan, this was never an option. That ought to have told everyone just how toxic this idea is — which is why all but the fringes of the Democratic Party avoided it.
The new left is free to say this, however. AOC and Tlaib are likely to be re-elected in their districts in perpetuity, unappetizing as that prospect might be. Nobody votes for groups like the National Immigrant Justice Center and United We Dream. They’re able to say the quiet part as loud as they like.
Whether or not you agree with the sprawling aid package passed by Congress last weeek, one thing should be clear: This package ought to be for American citizens. We’ll be the ones who end up paying for it, after all. We also have a legal right to be in the country.
This isn’t xenophobia, merely facts.
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