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 News from Around the Americas | February 2007 
US Benefits May Go to Mexican Workers
 Larry Wheeler & Mike Madden - Gannett News
| | Jose Gutierrez, originally from Mexico, poses next to a mural outside his 'Tacos El Charro' Mexican restaurant in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts January 12, 2007. Boston's Spanish-speaking Jamaica Plain neighborhood, which teemed with European factory workers in the 19th century, is now the city's unofficial 'Latin Quarter' - and its residents are flexing their political muscle. (Reuters/Brian Snyder) |
A pending agreement with Mexico would make some Mexican workers and their families eligible for Social Security benefits.
Critics of the plan, including conservative bloggers and their allies in Congress, warn that millions of illegal Mexican immigrants will soon be pulling down fat Social Security checks. That has prompted a spate of bills on Capitol Hill intended to prevent such a scenario.
"There is no question this would be a huge net drain on the American Social Security surplus," said Rep. Tom Feeney, a Florida Republican. "This is just an incentive for more (illegal immigrants) to come here."
Feeney is one of 36 House members who have signed on to a bill that would block the agreement if President Bush signs it. U.S. and Mexican government officials approved the agreement in 2004, but it won't take effect unless signed by Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
More than half of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants now living in the United States are Mexican, according to research by the Pew Hispanic Center.
The plan could make Social Security the newest weapon in the political debate over illegal immigration.
"It's one of the most asinine things I've ever heard of," said Theresa Harmon, co-founder of Tennesseans for Responsible Immigration Policies.
"Social Security is in horrible trouble. When did we get to the point that we cared more about foreign people than we do our own elderly in this country?"
Jessica Baba with the Tennessee Immigrants and Refugee Rights Coalition said the proposal was a "great starting point" to talk about the fact that undocumented workers fill a labor need and contribute much to the economy.
"The entire reason it's necessary for the president to be talking about it is because the system is broken," she said. "The legal system doesn't accommodate them."
Bush isn't expected to act on the proposed agreement with Mexico soon, according to Social Security Administration spokesman Mark Lassiter.
Pact would cost billions
The agreement alone wouldn't allow Social Security payments to Mexicans who paid Social Security taxes to the U.S. while here illegally.
But some lawmakers are crafting legislation that could entitle those workers to benefits. The workers could claim credit for the taxes they paid while here illegally if they document their work history through old pay stubs or tax receipts.
A similar provision allowed many immigrants to get Social Security credit after an illegal immigration amnesty in 1986.
Advocates for immigrants, who pushed for the pending agreement, said they had heard little about it since then.
"It boggles the imagination that somebody would say, 'Thank you for paying into the system, but sorry, we're going to take that money and never give you credit for it,' " said Charles Kuck, first vice president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
The agreement with Mexico would cost billions of dollars, but a reliable estimate isn't available.
The "totalization" agreement that U.S. and Mexican officials approved in 2004 would eliminate dual Social Security taxes for workers who spend time employed in both countries. And it would let workers who paid into the U.S. and Mexican retirement systems merge their work histories to qualify for benefits.
Bush distrusted on issue
The U.S. has similar agreements with 21 other nations, including Canada. But conservatives say the agreement with Mexico has the potential for many more Social Security claims.
"We should get out of the deal," said Marti Dinerstein, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates reducing all illegal immigration. "The time to do it is surely before the White House gets its hands on it, because I am very afraid that if the president gets it, he'll sign it."
White House aides did not return calls for comment.
The fury among conservatives reflects growing distrust of Bush's handling of immigration. Bush supports a path to citizenship for immigrants who came here illegally. |
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