ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND WELFARE - THE PROPAGANDA IGNORES THE EVIDENCE

The cover of The Economist of September 10 of this year promotes the issue's feature article: "Art of the Lie." In it the magazine claims that many populist politicians rely on assertions that "feel true," but have no basis in fact. It editorializes that "politicians have always lied," and it wonders if it really matters if they leave the truth behind entirely. The author concludes that the manner in which some politicians now lie, and the havoc they wreak by doing so, is extremely worrying.

Nothing illustrates the crux of this article better than the populist pre-occupation with all facets of immigration, especially when it concerns illegal aliens. Critics of immigration policy make their points by grossly exaggerating undesirable effects of a perceived influx of undocumented immigrants. The propaganda developed to make their points focuses primarily on welfare costs related to assisting illegal aliens. Jim Hoft, an ultra right-wing blogger and owner of "Gateway Pundit," managed to arouse his following by headlining: "We're $16 trillion in debt and giving welfare to illegal immigrants. It is confirmed: Majority of Illegal Immigrants Receive Government Welfare." (March 26, 2013). The Federation for American Immigration Reform published an article in June of 2010 suggesting that "Illegal Aliens Cost U.S. Taxpayers More Than $100 Billion Annually." And Robert Rector, senior research fellow on domestic policy at the Heritage Foundation, during an event in May of 2013, when asked how many illegal immigrants were on welfare, answered: "11 million!"

These proclamations are generally unsupported by statistical evidence, but they have the intended effect of causing level-headed citizens to doubt their own conclusions. Even those sympathetic to the plight of undocumented workers may profess to be uncomfortable with the thought that illegal immigrants have access to government entitlements. While recognizing that some available data could be interpreted differently by folks on opposite sides of the issue, and that inclusion or exclusion of some components could skew the argument, we do well to familiarize ourselves with substantiated facts if we want to engage in intelligent discourse.

* Contrary to populist opinion, illegal immigrants do not "swarm into the country" (Mizanor Rahman, January 25, 2008). Over 40% overstay their visas. They don't all come from Mexico. In 2014 5.4 million came from Asia and Central America. None are eligible to receive public benefits - ever.

* Welfare for illegal immigrants is mostly associated with children. Under the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause, U.S.-born children of immigrants are natural-born United States citizens, and they are eligible for programs like Medicaid and the state's Children's Health Insurance Program.

There are an estimated 3.4 million households headed by illegal immigrants (Center for Immigration Studies, 2015). Illegal immigrant households without children accessing welfare programs comprise only 14% of all illegal households receiving welfare benefits.

* Less than 1% of households headed by undocumented immigrants receive cash assistance for needy families, compared to 5% of households headed by native-born citizens.

* An estimated 50% of undocumented workers are paid legally. They end up paying Social Security and other payroll taxes. Since many have fake or stolen documents (especially Social Security numbers) they cannot benefit from taxes withheld. Undocumented workers pay an estimated $15 billion a year into Social Security. (In 2010 they also paid $10.6 billion in state and local taxes.) (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy). The magnitude of this is evidenced by the Social Security Administration's "Earnings Suspense File," which holds taxes that cannot be matched to workers' names and Social Security numbers. These deposits are significant. In 2003 alone $7.2 billion was credited to this fund. As of 2014 there were about 340 million unclaimed tax forms recorded in the file, compared to 270 million a decade ago.A good portion of these forms were filed by employers on behalf of undocumented immigrants. (SSA report of September, 2015, and The Atlantic of September, 2016).

Government agencies like the Social Security Administration and the United States Department of Health and Human Services produce ample statistics that counter the trumped up propaganda spewed by populist anti immigrant groups. However, many potential critics are lazy, and allow exaggerated claims to feed their ignorance. Such is the political climate we live in. While none of this excuses illegal immigration or undocumented workers, this information ought to contribute to the discussion and provide some perspective.