Common Sense In Washington

On June 26th, The Conservative Brief reported:

In a strong show of resolve to protect American taxpayers, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation targeting illegal immigrants who defraud welfare and public benefits programs, advancing the measure over fierce resistance from House Democrats.

Lawmakers voted 231-186 to approve the Deporting Fraudsters Act, with all 186 Democrats in opposition.

The bill, introduced by Rep. David Taylor, R-Ohio, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make fraud involving public benefits an explicit deportable offense for noncitizens.

Republicans framed the legislation as a common-sense step to ensure that those who abuse taxpayer-funded programs are swiftly removed from the country and permanently barred from returning.

“If you admit to or you’re convicted of fraudulently receiving public benefits, you are out of here on the next plane and can never return,” Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said during debate on the House floor.

Americans who are guilty of fraud go to jail. We have no obligation to feed and house people from other countries who commit crimes. We need to send them back to their home countries and let the authorities there deal with them.

The article notes:

Democrats also raised concerns about due process, arguing the bill could allow for deportation before a criminal conviction is secured.

They warned that such a provision could prevent alleged victims from having their cases heard in court.

“By bypassing the conviction requirement, this legislation would hand a liberal get-out-of-jail free card to immigrants who commit fraud by deporting them without going through the criminal justice system and giving their victims a day in court,” Raskin said.

Republicans pushed back on that claim, saying the bill does not prevent criminal prosecution before removal and maintains existing legal processes.

GOP lawmakers argued that the measure strengthens enforcement by closing perceived loopholes.

There is a question as to whether or not the bill can get 60 votes in the Senate. I understand that, but I want to see the Senators who oppose the bill go on the record that they are not willing to deport illegal immigrants who commit fraud.

Welfare Fraud In Minnesota

Not every country in the world is interested in ethical behavior. America, even with its flaws, values honesty. Many years ago, my husband and I were talking to a missionary who trained pastors in another country. He talked about the problem of explaining to them that it was wrong to cheat on their exams. In their country, cheating was no big deal. America needs to consider the values of the countries it accepts immigrants from or we will find ourselves dealing with pockets of immigrants who see nothing wrong with cheating. We are dealing with that problem now in Minnesota.

On Wednesday, The City Journal reported:

Minnesota is drowning in fraud. Billions in taxpayer dollars have been stolen during the administration of Governor Tim Walz alone. Democratic state officials, overseeing one of the most generous welfare regimes in the country, are asleep at the switch. And the media, duty-bound by progressive pieties, refuse to connect the dots.

In many cases, the fraud has allegedly been perpetrated by members of Minnesota’s sizeable Somali community. Federal counterterrorism sources confirm that millions of dollars in stolen funds have been sent back to Somalia, where they ultimately landed in the hands of the terror group Al-Shabaab. As one confidential source put it: “The largest funder of Al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer.”

Our investigation shows what happens when a tribal mindset meets a bleeding-heart bureaucracy, when imported clan loyalties collide with a political class too timid to offend, and when accusations of racism are cynically deployed to shield criminal behavior. The predictable result is graft, with taxpayers left to foot the bill.

The article continues:

If you were to design a welfare program to facilitate fraud, it would probably look a lot like Minnesota’s Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program. The HSS program, the first of its kind in the country, was launched with a noble goal: to help seniors, addicts, the disabled, and the mentally ill secure housing. It was designed with “low barriers to entry” and “minimal requirements for reimbursement.” Nonetheless, before the program went live in 2020, officials pegged its annual estimated price tag at $2.6 million.

Costs quickly spiraled out of control. In 2021, the program paid out more than $21 million in claims. In the following years, annual costs shot up to $42 million, then $74 million, then $104 million. During the first six months of 2025, payouts totaled $61 million.

On August 1, Minnesota’s Department of Human Services moved to scrap the HSS program, noting that payment to 77 housing-stabilization providers had been terminated this year due to “credible allegations of fraud.” Joe Thompson, then the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, went even further, stating that the “vast majority” of the HSS program was fraudulent.

The article concludes:

The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging it. By extension, that means recognizing the problem’s true source. So far, Minnesota’s governing class and its media establishment have failed to take that basic step. Minnesotans will have to confront the uncomfortable but unavoidable reality: members of the Somali community have played a central role in the massive fraud now engulfing the North Star State.

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. There is no reason that American taxpayers should be funding terrorism!

There Are No Words

The Blaze reported today on the story of Amanda Clayton. Amanda Clayton was discovered in March to have been collecting welfare checks despite having won $735,000 as a lottery prize.

This is the video of her defending her actions:

Please note the following statement:

“I feel that it’s okay because I mean, I have no income and I have bills to pay … I have two houses”

This woman was collecting food stamps after winning the lottery!

The article reports:

Attorney Todd Flood says Clayton has repaid the approximately $5,500 in food aid and medical benefits she received. The 24-year-old pleaded no contest to fraud last month and was sentenced on Tuesday.

The Michigan Department of Human Services says Clayton didn’t inform the state about her pre-tax lottery windfall of $735,000 last year. Flood says Clayton did make an attempt but decided not to fight the case and move on with her life.

Gov. Rick Snyder signed a law in April that requires lottery officials to tell the Department of Human Services about new winners.

So where does Clayton go from here? Her attorney says that because she’s a felon, it’s going to be hard.

“It’s Michigan in 2012. It’s difficult to find a job. A felony conviction is a very serious matter,” Clayton’s attorney told USA Today.

We don’t have a poverty problem–we have an attitude problem! Since finding a job is going to be difficult after a felony conviction, has she considered renting out one of her two houses in order to provide a stream of income. I am sure that with a qualified financial advisor she could actually live quite comfortably on her winnings and rental income.

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