Amid a legislative session that saw a number of positive bills passed, Tennessee lawmakers unfortunately failed in the recently ended session to pass a bill that would have reduced the use of public benefits by illegal aliens.
House Bill 1379 would have had agencies that dispense various types of taxpayer-funded benefits verify that the individuals applying for those benefits are legally eligible for them.
In effect, the bill would have made it more difficult for an illegal alien to receive benefits.
Taxpayers are already heavily burdened by paying a range of public benefits to U.S. citizens and legal immigrants.
We cannot see any good reason why U.S. citizens should also be required to provide benefits to people who have broken the law to come to our country.