Pennsylvanians bear illegal immigration’s fiscal burden | My Turn
30 Oct., 2020- Democrats in Pennsylvania’s General Assembly offered legislation to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. The bill is yet another example of Democrats rewarding those who break the law – and incentivizing more illegal immigration.
An estimated 180,000 illegal aliens currently reside in Pennsylvania. And they cost the state $728 million in social services each year.
Gubernatorial Candidate Spotlight: Illegal Immigration
Continuing our Candidate Spotlight Series, Doug Mastriano and Josh Shapiro answer our questions about illegal immigration.
From The Editors
This week’s question: Border state governors have made headlines by transporting undocumented immigrants to various “sanctuary cities” in the north. How should the growing crisis at the border be handled, and should the burden be shared across the nation?
Josh Shapiro (D)
The Shapiro campaign chose not to respond this week.
Doug Mastriano (R)
When I am Governor, Pennsylvania will never be a sanctuary state and I’ll hold elected officials accountable if they refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement agencies.
President Biden has neglected the porous southern border, and illegal immigrants have been transited into towns across Pennsylvania. After a whistleblower came forward about a flight of illegals into Lehigh Valley earlier this year, I issued a report using DHS documents showing that these ICE flights have been going on for over a year across the state.
Biden’s reversal of successful policies put into place by the Trump Administration has had predictable results. There were over 2 million illegal crossings in 2021. During the first hours of his presidency, Biden stopped construction of the southern border wall. Despite what pundits claim, walls actually work. That’s evidenced by the fact that illegal crossings have historically dropped instantly in sectors of the border where the wall has been completed.
Illegal immigration drives up welfare and education costs and lowers wages for blue collar jobs. Illegal immigration costs Pennsylvania taxpayers $1.3 billion annually. That amounts to a burden of $273 per household. We need to act at the state level to curtail illegal immigration, since the federal government won’t do its job.
When I am Governor, Pennsylvania will never be a sanctuary state and I’ll hold elected officials accountable if they refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement agencies.
PA Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 38 