Thursday, January 29, 2009

Republicans Afraid Stimulus Would Benefit Immigrants

Other than bigotry, I can't figure a reason why conservative republicans focus so much attention on immigrants. Immigrants seem to be their scape goat for everything. Perhaps the mindset could be attributed to the lack of diversity in the republican party.
Newsweek: The $800 billion-plus economic stimulus measure making its way through Congress could steer government checks to illegal immigrants, a top Republican congressional official asserted Thursday.

The legislation, which would send tax credits of $500 per worker and $1,000 per couple, expressly disqualifies nonresident aliens, but it would allow people who don't have Social Security numbers to be eligible for the checks.

Undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for a Social Security number can file tax returns with an alternative number. A House-passed version of the economic recovery bill and one making its way through the Senate would allow anyone with such a number, called an individual taxpayer identification number, to qualify for the tax credits.