Social Security to Head South

According to numerous news agencies including CNN and Investor's Business Daily News, it is about to become law that illegal aliens will be allotted Social Security benefits following 18 months of employment in the United States. Even though current law states that it is illegal for a business to knowingly hire an illegal alien, the up and coming law will still allow the same illegal aliens to be entitled to Social Security. So how will the new law jive with the current law of not allowing the hiring of illegal aliens in the first place? Currently if you are a U.S citizen and are hoping to collect benefits, you have to show 10 years of work or 40 quarters of job history.

So how did this come to fruition? An agreement was signed on June 29, 2004 by the U.S Commissioner of Social Security and the director general of the Social Security Institute of Mexico. The agreement was to give illegal aliens the option of U.S Social Security benefits, once they worked in the U.S for the required 18 month period. At present, the agreement is waiting for President Bush to sign it into law. This law will not actually be put through Congress, but they will have up to 60 days to give their disapproval on the law.

A freeway sign in California, found along the Mexican border.

Credit: State of California

Copyright: State of California