Seniors group unearths immigration bill 'loophole,' warns of drain on Social Sec

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Seniors group unearths immigration bill 'loophole,' warns of drain on Social Security

A senior citizens group warns the "comprehensive immigration reform bill" that's been revived in the Senate contains a "loophole" that would allow over two-million illegal aliens who received Social Security numbers before 2004 to receive nearly a trillion dollars in Social Security benefits by 2040.



Backers of the so-called "grand compromise" immigration bill claim illegal workers would not be able to obtain Social Security benefits under the plan. However, the TREA Senior Citizens League (TSCL) argues that is untrue. Group spokesman Brad Phillips says illegal aliens who gained something called a "non-work" Social Security number -- which entitled them to only things like food stamps or Medicare -- prior to 2004, would be able to receive Social Security benefits if the bill passes.

"We've done some numbers on this and we found that, in total, that would allow more than two-million workers to receive approximately $966 billion in Social Security benefits between now and the year 2040," Phillips explains. "That's an important year because that's about when the Social Security trustees estimate that Social Security will go bankrupt," he notes.

Phillips says Americans are not allowed to benefit from their crimes, and neither should foreign nationals. As he explains, the Social Security system is a progressive system mostly benefiting low-income workers.

"In other words, because they are low-income, they would be the ones to pull the most out of the system," he continues. "So people who earn the least pull the most out of the system -- and the average American wage earner would, in essence, be subsidizing the lowest-income earners."

According to Phillips, under the proposed immigration bill, illegal aliens would receive more than double in Social Security benefits what American taxpayers have spent so far on the war in Iraq.

The TREA Senior Citizens League is based in Alexandria, Virginia, and boasts 1.2 million members. TSCL executive director Shannon Benton testified yesterday about the loophole before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law.