From Jim
Geraghty:
From the
Daily Caller: The bill Rubio has been pushing isn't as bad as you might have expected. For one thing:
Congressional Democrats wanted Obamacare exchanges to cover all immigrants. However, in addition to putting all illegal immigrants who legalize under the same constraints as legal immigrants with regard to benefit-seeking (i.e., they are legally barred from seeking or receiving welfare), the immigration bill also prevents access to Obamacare. As Sen. Marco Rubio said on Fox News Sunday, “[T]hey don’t qualify for any federal benefits…. This is an important point. No federal benefits, no food stamps, no welfare, no Obamacare. They have to prove they’re gainfully employed. They have to be able to support themselves, so they’ll never become a public charge.” This is a point on which President Obama was forced to concede, and a make-or-break point from conservatives’ standpoint.
3 comments:
I simply don't believe this will stand. A couple of years down the road we'll have heart-rending stories about someone who had been in this country illegally for 15 years, worked hard all those years, doesn't have health insurance, and is terribly ill. And either the law will be changed by Congress or the Administration will write some new regulations and this restriction will disappear.
I don't have any more faith in the other "conservative" points the article cites. I believe the border fence will somehow not be built and E-verify will be tied up in court and/or companies that don't use it will not be prosecuted.
As for the cutoff date of 2011, that will probably stand - for this iteration of amnesty. Illegal aliens who came here after 2011 will have to wait for the next amnesty.
I agree with Elise. I don't expect the benefits provision will be followed any better than the proscription against being an illegal alien is now.
Further, the 2011 deadline is just as ephemeral. Everyone will claim (or forge) an excuse that of course they were here in time. The Feds will be tasked with proving that they weren't, while they all receive a free pass until it's sorted out, if ever.
I agree with you, too.
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