Scarnati Sponsors Illegal Alien Bill

WARREN—State Senator Joe Scarnati of the 25th District proposed legislation to prohibit illegal aliens living in Pennsylvania from receiving public benefits, such as Medicaid, welfare, and in-state college tuition. According to recent studies, there are more than 100,000 illegal aliens living in the Commonwealth.

"This is a straightforward matter of Pennsylvania citizens not having to sacrifice their hard earned dollars to subsidize immigrants who are in this country illegally," Scarnati stated. "We need to ensure that there are tough laws aimed at eliminating benefits to individuals who are living here outside of the law."

Senate Bill 9, which has 24 co-sponsors, will require anyone receiving public benefits in the Commonwealth to provide identification proving they are legal residents. In addition, individuals would be required to sign an affidavit stating they are a United States citizen, or an alien lawfully residing in this county.

According to Scarnati, any applicant signing the affidavit stating that they are a legal alien would have their status verified by the Federal Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement Programs operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security.

"I appreciate that this country and this state has individuals with many diverse backgrounds, but it is imperative that to remain competitive and to ensure public safety, we must have laws in place to discourage the practice of residing in Pennsylvania illegally," Scarnati added. "Fundamentally speaking, this bill creates fair measures to ensure that the citizens of Pennsylvania are not funding illegal aliens."

"Without question, we have too many illegal aliens in this country and in this state. This bill acts to discourage illegal behavior, and prevents actions that could place our citizens in financial jeopardy," Scarnati concluded. "I look forward to seeing the successful passage of Senate Bill 9, as it is in the best interest of the citizens living in this state legally."