Rubio Criticizes Government Prioritization of Immigrant Aid Over Retirees

(DailyVantage.com) – Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio is calling out the Biden administration for supposedly giving more benefits to illegal immigrants than to legitimate and legal U.S. citizens and residents, especially the elderly who rely on government assistance through the Social Security system.

Rubio highlighted an issue where Cuban immigrants from 40 years ago acquired legal citizenship and have contributed to society, and yet receive far less benefits from the government as opposed to illegal immigrants who get more financial assistance from federal agencies.

According to the Florida senator, who is among the contenders for former president Donald Trump’s vice presidential slot, retirees, including immigrants from Cuba who came to America more than four decades ago, “get $800, $900, $1,000” every month in their checks from Social Security. In contrast today, Rubio said, illegal immigrants from Cuba only need to claim to be a “refugee” and receive benefits of as much as “$1,500 a month” from the federal government despite being indolent.

“So, imagine if you’ve been working here for 40 years and your Social Security check is smaller,” Rubio said in frustration, than the benefits received by an “able-bodied person” who has just arrived in the U.S. and is not working despite being young and health enough to do so.

One study shows that more than half of households in the U.S. – or 59 percent – that are headed by illegal immigrants utilize at least one major welfare program from the government.

In addition, many local governments have also been giving out benefits to illegal immigrants. New York, for example, has an initiative called the “Safety Net Assistance” that provides asylum seekers cash assistance worth hundreds of dollars every month to help cover basic needs such as food and housing. While local officials say that only a small percentage of the migrant population will see those benefits, the sheer number of migrants the Big Apple has taken in means that millions of taxpayer dollars still be used for the purpose. Earlier in the year, California became the first state to offer full health insurance for all illegal immigrants.