OPINION:
The White House is cracking down on con artists who have been ripping off taxpayers. President Trump signed an executive order Monday tasking his second-in-command, J.D. Vance, to lead a team to identify the illegal aliens and other crooks getting rich off federal largesse. He described it as one of the most critical initiatives of his second term.
“If we found half of the fraud that’s taking place in this country, and I think you have a chance of doing that, we would have much more than a balanced budget. That’s the kind of numbers we’re talking about. The theft is incredible,” Mr. Trump said from his Oval Office desk.
Last week, a federal jury in Pennsylvania convicted Bhaskar Savani and Arun Savani of operating multiple schemes from their business, the Savani Group. They filed bogus H-1B visa applications to import cheap labor from India. They also bilked $30 million from Medicaid, laundered money, obstructed justice and cheated on taxes.
This was possible because states manage the social welfare programs while passing the bill to Uncle Sam. Because states don’t have to come up with the cash themselves, they can be cavalier about preventing swindlers such as the Savani brothers from exploiting the system.
Some state officials might even see the U.S. Treasury as a resource they can tap to spread the wealth to specific communities. Recent arrivals from certain corners of the globe aren’t troubled by pilfering from a nation to which they owe no allegiance.
“The Democrats have set up a system to funnel hundreds of millions, and ultimately trillions of dollars, to migrants who are in our country oftentimes from places like Somalia. So, as an example, ICE recently asked a group of illegal immigrants who were in detention whether or not they were receiving Medicaid. Half of them raised their hand and volunteered that they were on Medicaid,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller explained.
This is the first-of-its-kind effort to tackle the problem from a “whole of government” perspective. In the past, individual agencies and departments tended to avoid sharing the information needed to determine when a benefit taker is pulling a fast one.
The Department of Homeland Security would, for example, have to tell the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services which recipients of food stamps and other welfare are legal residents.
“What this executive order does is force the entire apparatus of the federal government to do two things: stop the fraud on the American taxpayer and guarantee that the benefits that ought by right to go to American citizens go to American citizens — and not to fraudsters,” Mr. Vance said.
The Democratic governors of California, Illinois, Minnesota and New York ought to be worried that the spotlight is about to fall on their mismanagement. That doesn’t mean Republican-run jurisdictions will escape scrutiny if local leaders happen to be lining their pockets with public funds.
Independent journalist Nick Shirley aided the cause Monday by releasing another expose. This one showcased alleged hospice care centers in Southern California that received millions of dollars in grants from near-vacant office space.
Tackling such a mission offers Mr. Vance an opportunity to showcase his skills. He is ready to close the federal purse to compel recalcitrant governors to cooperate and send in the G-men when he has to. Americans would be grateful to see fairness return to programs meant for the needy.
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