Records show that nearly 7.3 million migrants have illegally crossed the southern border during the Biden administration. Once here, those illegal migrants become eligible for a range of services, assistance, and benefits, many of them unavailable to citizens and the law-abiding. These offerings come from a complex network of federal, state, and local programs, as well as taxpayer-funded providers. Here are key benefits available at each level of the migrant’s journey:
At the border: Migrants are initially provided with shelter, meals, and medical care. Routine health care is typically provided on-site by medical professionals. However, if specialist or emergency care is required, they are transported to an independent private provider, which will be reimbursed by ICE’s Health Service Corps at Medicare rates. Those migrants then released are typically handed over to a (government-financed) NGO, which will supply another set of benefits, including hotel rooms, travel, food, clothing, medical care, legal aid, and translation assistance.
At state and local level: Once at their destination, migrants can look locally for more benefits. These vary widely by location but can include: housing assistance, up to $1,000 per month in pre-paid debit cards, Medicaid coverage, legal aid, cellphones, and more.
At the federal level: Support at this level is primarily for minor children, including Medicaid, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The Biden administration provides Obamacare health benefits to those illegals protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The plethora of potential benefits available to the illegal migrant constitutes a powerful “pull factor” drawing them here. As Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News:
Illegal aliens coming to America want five things: to enter the U.S.; stay here; work; send money home; and bring or have family here. All these benefits help illegal aliens stay in the U.S., so, yes, the benefits are a pull factor. Another benefit to add is legal services for civil deportation hearings, a benefit that U.S. citizens do not receive. Given the millions coming to the U.S. under the Biden administration, American taxpayers will see significant tax increases to pay for all these services given to people who aren’t supposed to be here. That means Americans will have even less money to spend on gas, groceries, and rent.
For more, see Fox News.