Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has suggested that churches and family members of refugees could sponsor and fund people's relocations, as he calls for an end to federal welfare benefits for refugees, some of whom remain on benefits long-term.
Paul appeared on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show” Tuesday to discuss separate lawsuits filed by major American cities and 22 states over a pending rule that seeks to prevent immigrants who would be dependent on government assistance from entering the U.S. “We actually have laws on the books that [say] if you come here illegally, you’re not supposed to be eligible for a host of welfare programs for five years,” Paul said.
“Some of the [ways] that people have gotten around this is by coming [on] refugee status,” he added. Paul noted that refugees are exempt from the federal government’s five-year waiting period for certain means-tested benefits and cited statistics showing that about 85% of Somali refugees who went on welfare when entering the U.S. are still on welfare before calling for changes to federal law.
Paul highlighted legislation he introduced that would “eliminate all welfare for refugees.” The bill, titled the End Welfare for Noncitizens Act, would prohibit the use of federal funds to provide benefits to refugees, asylees and illegal immigrants from obtaining federal funds under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Paul insisted that under the bill, “You can still come to this country, have someone sponsor you, have a church sponsor you and they take care of you.” He mentioned another option would be to “have a family member sponsor you and they take care of you. That’s the way it historically was. That’s the way it should be.”