NEW YORK- She’s at it again.

Over the weekend, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) demanded illegal immigrants are entitled to their “fair share” of federal and state stimulus funds.

Why?  Because she argues that some pay more in taxes than corporations that have been bailed out.

“Undocumented people pay taxes. So these folks, the folks that are working the farms to feed us, the people that are delivering our groceries and driving us from one place to another or doing our laundry and cleaning our clothes and our homes—these people pay taxes,” AOC said.

She continued to champion for them.

“They pay for the very recovery funds that they are being cut out of on city state or federal levels, and so we have to make sure they get their fair share and that they are included.”

She used it as an opportunity to rail on “corporate America”, arguing corporations that are not paying any taxes are getting bailed out.  Then she said illegal immigrants who pay some taxes are not being included.

“If these big corporations don’t pay taxes but they’re getting bailed out by the federal government — why are we cutting out undocumented people who are actually paying more taxes than these other folks?”

She continued by praising California for giving illegal immigrants stimulus funds.  Occasion argued California’s recovery program is “leaps and bounds” better than what New York has done to help illegal immigrants.

“California is recognizing how critical undocumented workers have been in their economy and they are striving to pay it back,” she said.

Since day one, she’s been one of the loudest voices demanding that we give stimulus funds to illegal immigrants.

Shortly after three House Democrats introduced a bill to give stimulus payments to everyone who has an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number).  That, of course, would include many illegal immigrants.

In April, California doubled down on their support for them.

Here are the details of what they’re doing, as we originally reported last month:

SACRAMENTO, CA. – As American businesses remain closed, millions of Americans are unemployed and there does not appear to be an end in sight, California has decided to give cash payments to illegal “immigrants,” Gov. Gavin Newsom announced, according to PBS.

Newsom said the source would be taxpayer money, as well as charitable contributions which would give $500 of coronavirus relief to each of an estimated 150,000 illegals in the state.

The above amount does not cover the entire contingent of illegals living in California, estimated at about 2.2 million, according to the Pew Research Center. The $2.2 trillion CARES package, passed by Congress and signed by President Trump last month does not apply to those in the country illegally.

“We feel a deep sense of gratitude for people that are in fear of deportations that are still addressing essential needs of tens of millions of Californians,” Newsom said.

He said that approximately 10% of California’s workforce are immigrants living illegally in the country, whom he said paid more than $2.5 billion in state and local taxes last year.

“Regardless of our status, documented or undocumented, there are people in need,” Newsom said. “And this is a state that steps up, always to support those in need, regardless of status.”

Newsom acknowledged that the amount wouldn’t put much of a dent in the overall number of illegals without assistance, but said it was a good start.

“I’m not here to suggest that $125m is enough, but I am here to suggest that it’s a good start and I am very proud that it is starting here in the state of California,” he continued.

“I recognize that we still have more to do in this space. We will endeavor to find more areas of support in the next days and weeks and over the next year as we transition back to some version of normalcy.”

Of the total moneys being dispersed to illegals, taxpayers are footing $75 million of the bill, while a group of charities is in for $50 million for a total of $125 million. There has already been $5.5 million collected for the fund, with contributions coming from the Emerson Collective, Blue Shield of California Foundation, the California Endowment, the James Irvine Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and an anonymous donor.

According to the Associated Press, Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove said that instead of spending the money on illegals, Newsom should earmark the money for “food banks, equipment for students to continue their education online and local governments struggling with revenue losses”, the AP said.

“Instead of meeting these urgent needs, Governor Newsom has chosen to irresponsibly pursue a left-wing path and unilaterally secured $125 million for undocumented immigrants,” Grove said.

Conservative Tomi Lahren criticized Newsom in a tweet, saying:

“And there it is, Governor Greasy @GavinNewsom creates a $125 million fund for illegals. Unbelievable.”

The AP noted that the state will not decide who receives the money, but rather the state will funnel the money through a series of nonprofits, who will vet potential recipients. It is believed that illegals are more likely to reach out to third-parties and not government agencies out of fear of deportation.

“You need to use organizations that have trusted relationships with these families,” said Jacqueline Martinez, CEO of the Latino Community Foundation.

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Daranee Petsod, president of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees said, “We want this to be as equitable as possible and benefit as many people as possible.”

Meanwhile, Jose Antonio Vargas, a journalist and founder of Define American, a not-for-profit that advocates for accurate representation of immigrants in the media, said in a tweet that other governors, in particular New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should pay heed.

“As an undocumented immigrant who was raised in California, and call the Bay Area my home, thank you,” Vargas wrote to Newsom. “Thank you for remembering that undocumented Californians are an inextricable part of our state.”

Giving money to illegals is nothing new for California. The state is the most liberal in the nation when it comes to giving benefits to illegals. Last year, the Golden State became the first in the country to give taxpayer-funded health benefits to low-income adults 25 and younger living in the country illegally. This year, Newsom wants to expand those benefits to people 65 and older.

The fund for illegals comes as California, as the rest of the country fights the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen businesses shuttered across the country, irrespective of the actual outbreaks in the particular locations.

For example, California, has seen over 26,600 coronavirus cases, and only 850 deaths. Considering California’s population, those numbers are extremely low. While public health officials credit the early implementation of physical distance and stay-at-home orders, California was only a day or two ahead of say New York State, which has seen a substantially larger number of cases and deaths.

The AP reports that since the middle of March, 2.7 million residents of California have applied for unemployment benefits, which is more than the cumulative number of applications the state processed in 2019 in total.

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