Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions is accusing the Obama administration of failing to enforce a century-old law meant to prevent immigrants from taking root in the U.S. only to live on the government dole — after the administration reported it did not cite anyone for this last year.
“Virtually no one one is being examined before they enter the country on whether or not they’ll … immediately begin to depend on government welfare,” Sessions, R-Ala., top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, told Fox News.
As Congress weighs new immigration legislation, Sessions said any reform package “has got to end that.”
Sessions turned up new statistics from the Department of Homeland Security last week showing what he describes as a startling trend. DHS reported how relatively few immigrants are being turned away on the grounds that they are likely to become a “public charge” — or individuals who depend on welfare programs — despite a 100-year-old law that’s supposed to prevent this.