Taxpayers to foot bill for amnesty under House proposal

House Democrats unveiled their plan to legalize millions of illegal immigrants — and to make taxpayers pay billions of dollars to process their applications.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s proposal, released late Friday, calls for $2.8 billion in federal funds to help U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services build capacity to handle the expected surge of paperwork and decision-making.

USCIS is almost entirely fee-funded, under the theory that immigrants should pay their own way. Mr. Nadler’s proposal would subvert that model.

SEE ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: Homeland Security would need years to prepare for new amnesty

His plan would also kick in the amnesty by May 1, giving USCIS little time to get up and running.

Previous directors have told The Washington Times it would take at least 18 months to prepare for a mass amnesty.

Mr. Nadler, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, envisions legalizing “Dreamers,” who came to the U.S. before age 18, those in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status program and illegal immigrants who held “essential” jobs during the pandemic. That covers more than three-quarters of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants believed to be in the country.

The plan does not contain new border security or enforcement measures. That marks a major break with past immigration plans, whose security measures were considered critical elements to prevent the amnesty from enticing more people to come to the U.S.

The eligibility date is the start of this year, meaning any illegal immigrant who made it to the U.S. by that time could qualify. That includes hundreds of thousands of people who jumped the border during the surge in 2019 and who should have been deported.