Thursday, July 30, 2009

NEW HEALTH COVERAGE for illegals

So Far, Top Leaders Intend New Health Plan to Cover Illegal Aliens

By Roy Beck, Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 12:36 AM

Oh, sure, they say it isn't true. But every indication says it is.

Consider this report on CBS News' website:


Asked by CBS News' Katie Couric in an exclusive interview whether illegal immigrants should be covered under a new health care plan, President Obama responded simply, "no."

Fantastic, I thought, the President recognizes that his health plan already is so costly (according to CBO estimates) that he is losing Members of his own Party and he realizes that there is no way that he can add on the cost of providing full health care to 11-19 million illegal aliens.

But immediately, the President thought of an exception:

The one exception that I think has to be discussed is how are we treating children,

Uh, oh. That would be a few million exceptions, although he tried to make it sound like it would be limited to vaccinations and communicable disease control.

But he had much worse to tell Couric:

First of all, I'd like to create a situation where we're dealing with illegal immigration, so that we don't have illegal immigrants. And we've got legal residents or citizens who are eligible for the plan. And I want a comprehensive immigration plan that creates a pathway to achieve that.

Hmmmm, so the reason the President can say that NO he wouldn't cover illegal aliens with his health plan is because he plans to change their name from "illegal aliens" to "U.S. citizens" and cover them!

I know that Orwellian doublespeak is so common we almost don't pay attention anymore, but please allow me to state plainly what the President said so obliquely:

The Obama Administration's hope is that nearly all current illegal aliens will be covered by the emerging new national health plan because they will be re-labeled as legal residents as soon as the amnesty is passed.

In case it isn't clear, let me also state that the health costs of the 11-19 million illegal aliens to the U.S. taxpayer will be just as high whether they are called illegal aliens or legal residents. I hope the CBO cost counters are paying attention.

NO MEANS YES ON BENEFITS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS

The leaders of the U.S. House are playing the same game.

They allow language to be put into the health bill (as in many other benefits legislation) that says illegal aliens are not eligible.

But when an amendment is offered to require verification of legal residence before receiving the benefit, Speaker Pelosi's team demands Party-line votes to kill it.

Friends, don't let a single politician fool you by talking about supporting language that bars illegal aliens from something. Those words mean nothing unless there is a verification system. And thus far, illegal aliens will not have to prove they are legal residents to get the new federal health coverage.

FOREIGN BORN RESPONSIBLE FOR MOST GROWTH IN UNINSURED

NumbersUSA takes no position on the various proposals for changes in our national health system.

But I think it is important to note that we probably would not be having this particular debate if not for immigration.

That is because immigration (legal and illegal) has been the primary cause of the growth in the uninsured, which is one of the primary factors that moved health care to center stage.

Consider this from a study by the Center for Immigration Studies:

According to the Census Bureau, since 1989 the population without health insurance has grown by 14.62 million and stood at 47 million in 2006.

In the March 2007 CPS there were 9.21 million immigrants who arrived in 1990 or later who did not have health insurance. This is equal to 62.9 percent of the growth in the uninsured population.

Moreover, there were 1.12 million children born to post-1990 immigrants who also lacked insurance, meaning that new immigrants and their U.S.-born children accounted for 71 percent of the growth in the uninsured population.

Without legal and illegal immigration since 1989, the uninsured population would have grown only one-quarter as much as actually happened. The "uninsured crisis" is almost entirely a crisis created by our immigration system.

CURRENT IMMIGRATION POLICIES WILL ADD MORE AND MORE NET DRAINS ON THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

Be clear that this is much more than just an illegal immigration problem.

Our immigration system is set up to bring in 1 million new legal immigrants each year who are disproportionately low-skilled, low educated and poor. The minute they arrive under a national health system, they will require additional health subsidies from the existing taxpayers.

If the government were really serious about reducing national medical costs, it would immediately pass the SAVE Act to slash illegal immigration and it would reduce legal immigration by 80%.

But who's serious?

The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Va., certainly is serious. Get a load of these excerpts from its editorial:

Let’s set aside the arguments pro and con for nationalized health care, and zero in on those uncovered millions whom some proponents want other American taxpayers to support with their dollars.

First, the stats: There are an estimated 46 million folks out there not paying for health insurance. Of that number some 7-10 million people, or 15-20 percent, are illegal aliens. . . .

. . . . . All of this is to point to a major flaw in health-care legislation before Congress. As of earlier last week, none of the major legislative proposals had strict requirements that any agencies check the immigration status of anyone seeking to receive health-care services.

Most Americans may have already figured out that it’ll be their tax dollars and health-care premiums that will go toward the cost of underwriting health-care costs for millions of illegal immigrants.

If health-care legislation passes without a tough mandate for screening illegal immigrants, then the first prescribed procedure should be brain scans for the congressmen who voted for it.

We have NumbersUSA members who are rooting for the health care action to come through reasonably like the proposals and we have members who absolutely hate all of the proposals. But I think close to 100% of our members would agree that the proposals should go no further until there are guarantees that national health care will not be provided to today's illegal aliens and will not be used as a carrot to entice millions more.

ROY BECK is Founder & CEO of NumbersUSA

HOUSE COMMITTEE REJECTS LIMITS ON HEALTH CARE WELFARE FOR ILLEGALS - who pays?

House Committee Rejects Closing Health Coverage Loophole = Illegals (Trillions in debt AND STILL SPENDING!)
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Date: 2009-07-30, 10:23AM PDT
Reply to: comm-nvcdm-1297069562@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
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House Committee Rejects Closing Health Coverage Loophole for Illegal Aliens
During consideration of the health care reform bill (H.R. 3200), the House Ways & Means Committee rejected an amendment that would have helped ensure illegal aliens would not receive taxpayer-funded health care benefits.

The amendment, offered by Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV), would have required the government to verify that enrollees in the "public plan" and applicants for "affordability credits" are not illegal aliens. Eligibility verification would have been determined by using existing databases — the Income and Eligibility Verification System (IEVS) and the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system. (Congressional Quarterly, July 16, 2009; See also FAIR's Press Release, July 22, 2009). The Heller amendment would have addressed many of the same concerns that FAIR raised last week about whether illegal aliens would be able to receive taxpayer-funded health care benefits. (See FAIR's Legislative Update, July 20, 2009). Speaking in support of his amendment, Congressman Heller stated: "Requiring citizenship verification for enrollment would ensure only citizens and legal residents receive taxpayer funded healthcare." (Representative Heller's Press Release, July 16, 2009).

Opponents suggested that Heller's amendment was unnecessary because Section 246 of the bill states: "Nothing … shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States." (Legislative Text, Section 246). Critics of this language correctly point out that: (1) Section 246 only applies to affordability credits, which are the subsidies to help people pay for enrolling in a private health insurance plan, but will not prevent illegal aliens from enrolling in the government-run, taxpayer financed public option health plan; and (2) with respect to enrollment in private health insurance plans, Section 246 does not contain any meaningful verification procedures to ensure that illegal aliens do not receive subsidies paid for by American taxpayers. Accordingly, although the bill contains a provision limiting eligibility for the affordability credit to those legally present, it is limited in scope and virtually meaningless in effect. Unfortunately, despite the merits of the Heller Amendment, the House Ways and Means Committee rejected it on a party-line vote, with 15 Republicans supporting and 26 Democrats opposing the amendment. (For a list of the members opposing the Heller Amendment, see FAIR's Action Alert).

This may be exactly what the illegal alien lobby is looking for. In late June, the National Council of La Raza issued a statement demanding that Congress give illegal aliens taxpayer-funded health care under this bill. (See FAIR's Legislative Update, June 22, 2009). This week, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) also urged Speaker Pelosi to ensure that illegal aliens are covered by the health care reform bill. (Roll Call, July 24, 2009). According to a CHC member, the organization's leaders are not asking Speaker Pelosi to "specifically spell something out" in the bill, but instead to seek to ensure that the bill does not actually prohibit illegal aliens from receiving benefits. "We're pushing to include everyone in the health care bill. Everyone," the CHC member who asked not to be identified said. "Sometimes if you don't say something, something happens." (Id.).

The health care legislation is now expected to move to the House Energy and Commerce Committee before it moves to the full House of Representatives.

LA RAZA OWNED DEMS FIGHT E-VERIFY as they fight to give away our jobs!

Amnesty Supporters Criticize E-Verify in Senate and House Subcommittee Hearings


Last week, E-Verify — the electronic employee verification system that allows employers to verify the work eligibility of their employees - was the topic at both Senate and House subcommittee hearings. (See FAIR's E-Verify Backgrounder). The Senate Judiciary Committee's Immigration Subcommittee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Government Management, Organization, and Procurement Subcommittee heard from witnesses about the program.

Despite the great strides that E-Verify has made since its inception in 1996 and its great popularity, some in Congress still question its effectiveness. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, presented harsh criticism of E-Verify, calling the program "half-hearted and flawed." Sen. Schumer and other members of the subcommittee expressed concern about what they say is an inability of the system to detect document fraud and identity theft. Senator Schumer did not mention the vast amount of fraud the program can detect when illegal aliens attempt to gain employment by providing invalid Social Security numbers. In fact, although the program reduces an employer's dependence on screening an identification document, Sen. Schumer incorrectly stated that the current system "require[s] employers to make subjective determinations about an employee's identity or legal status."

In order for Congress to move forward with a large-scale amnesty bill, Schumer proposed that his subcommittee look into incorporating "non-forgeable" biometric data into E-Verify. The Subcommittee's Ranking Member, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), largely agreed with Sen. Schumer, while Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) expressed apprehension with the proposed biometric system. Sen. Sessions expressed satisfaction with E-Verify and the improvements that the system has made, stating that he is "baffled by people who don't use it." (Senate Immigration Subcommittee Hearing, July 21, 2009).

Long-time amnesty advocate Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) testified at the Senate hearing that mandatory employee verification alone will not fix our broken immigration system because "undocumented workers are already an integral part of our country, economy, communities and families." Rep. Gutierrez spoke in support of the biometric-based employment verification system proposed by fellow amnesty proponent, Sen. Schumer. (Testimony of Luis Gutierrez, July 21, 2009).

Among the second panel of witnesses, Acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Deputy Director Michael Aytes noted the steps his agency is taking to strengthen the program, including:

Increased oversight (including monitoring and compliance);
The recent addition of passport information to the system; and
Looking at working with states to incorporate the use of driver's licenses into an E-Verify accessible database. (Testimony of Michael Aytes, July 21, 2009).
Former Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) Commissioner James Ziglar recommended incorporating biometric components into E-Verify, but warned against "scrapping the present system and all of the hard work that has been done to date" (Testimony of James Ziglar, July 21, 2009). Ziglar admitted that it would be costly and time consuming to incorporate biometrics into E-Verify, but former USCIS Chief Counsel Lynden Melmed argued that "the cost of not doing it is too significant… it is a question of how to pay for it." (Senate Immigration Subcommittee Hearing, July 21, 2009).

On the House side, Members of the Government Management, Organization, and Procurement Subcommittee expressed a different set of concerns. With the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) recent announcement that it intends to finally implement a Bush-era regulation to require most federal contractors to use E-Verify (DHS Press Release, July 8, 2009), some subcommittee members expressed concern that USCIS would not be able to handle the surge of new activity. However, the Deputy Associate Director of the National Security and Records Verification Directorate within USCIS, Gerri Ratliff, assured the subcommittee that the system can handle the additional workload.

At the House hearing, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) suggested that the government should charge employers for using E-Verify. (House Government Management, Organization, and Procurement Subcommittee Hearing, July 23, 2009). Such an idea is unwise and overlooks several key points. First, the federal government is responsible for securing our borders and enforcing immigration laws. E-Verify relies on employers' voluntary use of the program to further a federal government responsibility. It is important that the federal government take responsibility for the cost of enforcement rather than pass that cost on to patriotic employers who are currently using the system. Second, America is suffering from a jobs deficit. E-Verify makes sure available jobs are going to legal American workers and not illegal aliens. By posing a burden on employers, Congress runs the risk that employers would stop using E-Verify. This would enable illegal aliens to obtain available jobs instead of ensuring those jobs go to legal American workers. Third, E-Verify only costs the government about $140 million a year. For the money, E-Verify is one of the most cost-effective programs administered by the federal government. By trying to pass that cost on to employers, Congress could actually end up discouraging the program's use, which would undermine E-Verify's effectiveness.

BOND SET FOR MAN WITH 28 DEPORTATIONS! and yet still NO WALL

Bond set for man with 28 deportations (WHERE IS THE FENCE?)

Bond set for man with 28 deportations
Associated Press

Share MORE ON IMMIGRATION

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DOTHAN, Ala. — An Alabama judge set a $20,000 cash bond for a native of Mexico who reportedly has been deported from the United States 28 times.

Houston County Sheriff's Sgt. Jackie Smith said he charged Luis Hernandez-Arellano, 38, with felony obstruction of justice last week for giving deputies false identification.

Smith said deputies stopped a vehicle on Alabama Highway 109 Thursday for running a stop sign. The driver told deputies his name was Caesar Garza.

After Garza failed to provide a driver's license or other identification, deputies were able to positively identify him as Carlos Cortez. Investigators later learned through Immigration and Customs Enforcement that Cortez is actually Luis Hernandez-Arellano



Location: WHERE IS THE FENCE?
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests



PostingID: 1297055214


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JUDICIAL WATCH - LA RAZA MOVE FOR HEALTH CARE FOR ILLEGALS - Who pays?

JUDICIAL WATCH
Health Benefits For Illegal Immigrants
Last Updated: Fri, 07/24/2009 - 11:42am
The powerful House committee that decides and controls the nation’s tax policy has essentially voted to give illegal immigrants health benefits under President Obama’s proposed multi trillion-dollar government plan.
On the heels of a national poll revealing that most Americans want illegal aliens excluded from national health coverage, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means defeated a measure designed to reduce taxpayers’ liability by ensuring that undocumented immigrants don’t qualify for the benefits.
In a straight party line vote of 23-18, the committee rejected a Nevada congressman’s amendment requiring the federal government to confirm health care eligibility with the same databases currently used to screen welfare recipients. The government assures that illegal aliens don’t receive taxpayer-financed welfare benefits by utilizing the Income and Eligibility Verification System and the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system.
Neither will be utilized to screen illegal immigrants when America’s Affordable Health Care Choices Act kicks in, however. Caving into the influential open borders movement, House Democrats refused to take action to limit the health system overhaul’s already outrageous and still-growing tab.
Nevada Republican Dean Heller offered the amendment as a cost-cutting effort by requiring the use of existing citizenship verification tools for the new health plans. The government-run healthcare system will kill jobs, hurt families and result in massive federal spending, according to the lawmaker. But if it passes, at least the government should assure that only citizens and legal residents get the taxpayer-funded healthcare, he says.
U.S. taxpayers already spend billions of dollars annually to provide free medical care for illegal immigrants with states that border Mexico taking the biggest hit. The expense has become so unbearable in California—long an illegal alien sanctuary—that several municipalities eliminated the perk this year to save tens of millions of dollars in the midst of the state’s dire financial crisis.
It hasn’t stopped Mexico's government from operating programs in about a dozen American cities referring its nationals—living in the U.S. illegally—to publicly funded health centers where they can get free medical care without being turned over to immigration authorities.
While this may sound too outrageous to be true, it’s very real. The program is called Ventanillas de Salud (Health Windows) in Spanish and its mission is to help illegal immigrants find U.S. hospitals, clinics and other government programs where they can get free services without being deported for violating federal immigration laws. Imagine the campaign Mexico will launch when Obama’s national health care bill passes.
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JUDICIAL WATCH Barbara Boxer (CA) Says NO to ICE Enforcement of Laws!

JUDICIAL WATCH
Sen. Boxer To Halt Immigration Enforcement
Last Updated: Thu, 04/09/2009 - 3:05pm
In a shameless effort to gain additional Congressional seats, California Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer has attached an amendment to a spending bill that will block federal immigration enforcement until after the 2010 census.
The idea is to count all illegal immigrants in the next official U.S. Census, which will more than likely give states with large illegal alien populations such as California, Arizona, Texas and Florida additional seats in the House of Representatives after 2010.
Although they cannot vote, illegal immigrants are included in the census and legislators in states with large undocumented populations say aggressive immigration enforcement will prevent those living in the U.S. illegally from being counted.
To keep federal agents from enforcing the country's immigration laws, Senator Boxer actually attached an amendment to an existing appropriations bill (HR 3093) for the departments of Commerce and Justice.
A fixture in the U.S. Senate since 1993, Boxer's amendment specifically calls on the Customs and Enforcement Bureau of the Department of Homeland Security to limit aggressive enforcement of federal immigration laws to promote full participation of non citizens in the census.
The amendment points out that during the census counts of 1980, 1990 and 2000 federal immigration officials agreed to limit immigration enforcement efforts to encourage the participation of all persons in the United States.
However, Boxer's amendment goes on to say that Homeland Security officials have publicly stated that they will not even consider scaling back efforts to aggressively enforce federal immigration laws during the 2010 census. Therefore she felt it necessary to sneak the amendment into an unrelated spending bill.
Boxer is no stranger to controversy. This year alone she was exposed for accepting illegal campaign contributions from a Pakistani fugitive on the FBI's most wanted list, unethically using her position as chair of a powerful Senate committee to raise money for her reelection campaign and introducing legislation to put 1.5 million illegal immigrant farm workers and their relatives on a path to United States citizenship by granting them immediate legal residency.