Two House Republicans are asking the White House for details of a plan that would hand out $2 billion in taxpayer funds to illegal immigrants.
In a letter to Eugene Sperling, President Biden’s coordinator for the American Rescue Plan, the congressmen pointed out reports that New York legislators “included in their state budget a new $2.1 billion fund to provide direct checks of up to $15,600 exclusively available to illegal immigrants.”
“It now appears that New York is using its state budget, recently bolstered with billions of federal dollars, to funnel money to illegal immigrants,” they wrote.
The letter is from Budget Committee ranking member Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., and Oversight Committee ranking member Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.
Fox News reported the congressmen want Sperling to investigate the New York program.
“Given the questions raised by the actions of the State of New York, we sincerely hope you will use your position to protect the integrity of American taxpayer dollars and put American families first,” the two wrote.
“The $2.1 billion price tag of this fund is quite peculiar,” they said. “The $1.9 trillion spending plan enacted last month allocated monetary relief to states using a new biased formula that resulted in New York, and other states run by Democrat officials, receiving disproportionately more aid than in previous coronavirus relief bills. As you recall, prior to the passage of the recently enacted bill, a bipartisan group of 22 governors expressed concern with this formula change because it punished states with healthy state budgets and strong economies.
“Coincidentally, the amount of additional federal dollars New York appears to be receiving because of the change in the funding distribution formula is exactly the same as this new fund for illegal immigrants — $2.1 billion.”
To qualify for the cash payments from New York, people must prove they are New York residents who were ineligible for unemployment benefits and stimulus checks due to their immigration status.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended the program.
“Half a million of our fellow New Yorkers happen to be undocumented,” he said. “They are part of our city, they are part of the life of our city. They have been suffering without a lot of the help other people have gotten. This is part of how we recover together, so I do think it was the right thing to do.”
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