Shutdown reveals how out of control illegal immigration has become

OPINION:

Around 42 million people will lose food stamp assistance Saturday. Senate Democrats say they are outraged, but they are not upset enough to cast the vote needed to open the government and restore the federal freebies.

Any political party with genuine empathy would be concerned about 1 in 10 Americans being on the dole. Aid payments are supposed to be a temporary helping hand for when times are tough, not a permanent entitlement for those unwilling to work.

Democratic policies have transformed SNAP into a shiny object that attracts freeloaders from around the globe to come to the U.S. and live at taxpayer expense. The resulting influx from the Third World has reshaped our nation and its politics.

A survey last week by Patriot Polling shows Zohran Mamdani with 62% support from foreign-born voters in his run for New York City mayor, suggesting the recent arrivals overwhelmingly endorse his Marxist views. They don’t seem bothered that he never renounced his Ugandan citizenship. Native-born New Yorkers prefer Andrew Cuomo for the position, not that he’s all that much of an improvement.

Congressional liberals are so committed to appeasing people who don’t belong in this country that they are holding government funding hostage until the giveaways for illegal aliens curtailed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are reinstated.

This indulgent attitude toward uncontrolled migration has changed the complexion of society. New York state says 1 in 3 residents communicate in a language other than English at home. In the Big Apple, nearly 1 in 4 are unable to speak, write or understand English beyond a few simple phrases, according to municipal statistics.

Instead of pushing all-comers to master our common tongue, Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signed legislation in 2022 allowing strangers, regardless of immigration status, to be catered to “in their preferred language.” The state Senate overwhelmingly passed a measure earlier this year to expand this concept by eliminating local officials’ discretion in choosing which documents must be automatically translated.

Soon, every pamphlet and form will have to be printed in Fulani, Urdu, Bengali and Haitian Creole, removing any incentive to learn English, just like the welfare programs guarantee they will never have reason to find a job.

One of the Democratic Party’s biggest boosters, the American Federation of Government Employees, appears to believe its members shouldn’t temporarily miss a paycheck for the benefit of noncitizens.

“It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship. Put every single federal worker back on the job with full back pay — today,” AFGE President Everett Kelley wrote Monday.

The Center for Immigration Studies analyzed census data to confirm 59% of households headed by an illegal alien participate in at least one welfare scheme, proving liberals are lying when they say subsidies such as SNAP don’t go to illegals.

President Trump is changing that, reversing the damage done by prior administrations. CIS crunched census figures through August and estimated that the foreign-born population dipped by 2.2 million thanks to aggressive enforcement and generous self-deportation offers. This represents a fraction of the 8.3 million who walked over the border under President Biden.

America’s commitment to free speech, religious liberty and constitutional rule of law is what makes us unique. We forfeit our great heritage if we fill the nation with drop-ins who are just here for free health care, free housing and an Obamaphone.