Reid Removed Limit on Welfare for Amnestied Illegal Aliens

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) omitted a limit on welfare for amnestied illegal aliens previously adopted by the Senate when he revived the Senate immigration bill supported by Ted Kennedy and George Bush. In reviving the bill, Reid included a “clay pigeon” amendment that supposedly included all the amendments passed by the Senate to the original version of the immigration bill.

But although Sen. Reid included all the anti-business amendments to the bill, such as limits on guest-worker programs and high-skilled immigrants, he left out an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) that would have protected taxpayers.

The Sessions amendment, agreed to by a majority of the Senate, would have prevented those who were once illegal aliens from receiving the earned-income tax credit (EITC) after being amnestied. The EITC currently results in many low-skilled, low-income households receiving money back from Uncle Sam rather than paying any income taxes at all.

Of course, even if the EITC is denied to amnestied illegals, they will still be eligible for affirmative action, and eventually other forms of welfare. As I have noted before, the Senate immigration bill contains many loopholes that make its supposed benefits totally illusory.