Written by Ainsley Jackman
On the heels of Gov. Newsom’s program offering $125 million in relief funding to illegal immigrants residing in California, far-left Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez has proven once again that her priorities put illegals first and suffering citizens last.
She repeatedly stated over Twitter that we owe illegal immigrants more and pushed for an even larger relief fund, even as almost four million Californians have been put out of work due to COVID-19 and need help desperately. Let’s take a deeper look at her reasoning.
According to Gonzalez, “Our undocumented workers in California pay taxes, yet are unable to access unemployment benefits and their families were cut out of receiving stimulus checks… This is inhumane.”
Our undocumented workers in California pay taxes, yet are unable to access unemployment benefits and their families were cut out of receiving stimulus checks, even if their spouse is a citizen. The one-time pandemic relief fund that we fought for is running dry. This is inhumane. https://t.co/FIrvM7Ksiq
— Lorena Gonzalez (@LorenaSGonzalez) July 22, 2020
First, a quick fact check: Only about 50 percent of illegal immigrants actually pay any taxes at all, with the average illegal alien only paying about $285 in state taxes per year. So it comes as no surprise that illegal immigrants nationwide cost taxpayers a net price of over $100 billion annually, with Californians paying the most. Essentially, illegal immigrants aren’t doing citizens any favors as taxpayers, as they cost much more than they contribute.
Second, let’s remember that even ignoring those numbers, the right to unemployment benefits and other government programs is not contingent on paying taxes. It’s contingent on citizenship, which by definition, illegal immigrants do not have—and knew coming in they would not receive.
In other words, illegal aliens are in no way entitled to taxpayer-funded benefits. To offer them would be offering a perverted form of charity. There is, of course, a time and place for such charity, but if there has ever been a wrong time and place—it’s now. When the money should instead be allocated to suffering Americans whose legal citizenship entitles them to it, Newsom, Gonzalez, and other Democrats continue to put Americans last.
Assemblywoman Gonzalez continues this line of reasoning in subsequent tweets. “Other undocumented workers have been deemed ‘essential employees’ and continue to work during the pandemic,” she added. “How can undocumented, tax-paying workers be both essential to our state and undeserving of basic safety net protections?”
How can undocumented, tax-paying workers be both essential to our state and undeserving of basic safety net protections? Those who are working so we can eat are being exposed to COVID at alarming rates. They don’t have healthcare, or even adequate access to PPE. Who are we?
— Lorena Gonzalez (@LorenaSGonzalez) July 22, 2020
The flaw in her logic is that she doesn’t realize that “essential employees” does not referring to individuals, but to job positions, which could just as easily be filled by legal workers. This discussion inevitably leads us back to the age-old debate of employment and immigration. The gist of it is that the illegal workers themselves are not essential, but their positions are. Were those positions not filled by illegal immigrants, they would instead be filled by some of the millions of now-unemployed Americans desperately looking for work in this time of crisis.
Assemblywoman Gonzalez and Gov. Newsom swore their oaths to American citizens—and to Californians specifically. They did not swear any oaths to illegal immigrants. When they prioritize the well-being of illegal aliens over citizens, they are breaking those oaths and abandoning citizens in California in their time of need.
