(RepublicanInformer.com)- Illegal immigrants would receive a number of benefits under the next coronavirus economic stimulus bill that House Democrats introduced recently.
The House unveiled its revised $2.2 trillion stimulus package recently in an attempt to save face if negotiations between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin don’t progress anywhere.
Part of that bill would allow certain illegal immigrants to be authorized to work in the United States if they met some conditions. Those illegal immigrants who are “engaged in essential critical infrastructure labor or services in the United States” could be placed into “a period of deferred action,” whereby they’d be considered legal to work in the U.S.
The Democrats’ bill would also give protections to employers who hire the illegal immigrants. The bill would make “the hiring, employment or continued employment” of those essential illegal immigrants not a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
This part of the bill would remain in effect until 90 days after the end of the public health emergency.
According to the language of the bill:
“Such workers are deemed to be in a period of deferred action and to be authorized for employment, and employers are shielded from certain immigration-related violations for employing such workers.”
Not only would the House Democrats’ stimulus package extend these worker protections to illegal immigrants, and those companies employing them, but it would extend further benefits to them as well.
Immigrants who are in the country illegally but file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security Number would be eligible to receive a stimulus check. Democrats have proposed a second round of direct payments to Americans of $1,200 per adult and $500 per dependent child.
In the first round of payments in the spring, illegal immigrants were not eligible to receive the payments.
But Democrats don’t stop there. Their bill would require staff from the Department of Homeland Security to review case files for illegal immigrants being held in custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Those who are not deemed to be a “threat to national security” are to be prioritized for release.
Free legal assistance and video calls are also to be extended to these illegal immigrants in ICE custody.
In sum, those parts of the House Democrats’ stimulus package are likely to drum up some pushback from conservatives. Some groups are already expressing their disdain for that part of the proposal.
RJ Hauman, the government relations director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, recently said:
“Once again, House Democrats are trying to bailout millions of illegal aliens — and not just financially, but give them de facto amnesty as well. This would be an unprecedented move and take desperately needed money and jobs away from Americans in the middle of a pandemic. Even though it has absolutely zero chance of becoming law, I hope voters are paying close attention.”
The bill was originally scheduled to be voted on in the House on Wednesday, but that was delayed as Pelosi and Mnuchin work to hash out a deal.
