Arizona Gov. Re-Affirms State Ban on Public Benefits for Illegal Aliens as Federal Executive Amnesty Takes Effect

Thursday, August 16, 2012, 2:44 PM EDT

On the day that President Obama's deferred-action amnesty took effect, Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer issued an executive order re-affirming that amnesty recipients are not eligible for drivers licenses and other public benefits under state law. The governor said the deferred-action program does not grant recipients a legal status that would make them eligible for public benefits banned under a 2004 voter-passed ballot initiative.

The governor’s executive order emphasizes that "Allowing more than an estimated 80,000 deferred-action recipients improper access to state or local benefits … will have significant and lasting impacts on the Arizona budget, its health-care system and additional public benefits that Arizona taxpayers fund."

The order directs state agencies to review existing statutes, rules and policies, and to initiate any changes necessary to prevent deferred-action recipients from getting benefits. That includes driver's licenses, which cannot be issued under state law unless an applicant submits proof satisfactory to the state Department of Transportation that the applicant's presence is authorized under federal law. Under the governor's order, a federal employment authorization document, by itself, will no longer be considered sufficient proof.

Matthew Benson, the governor’s press aide, said, "What President Obama has done confers neither lawful status nor authorized presence. All they've done is defer these individuals' prosecution and deportation…It's up to states to try to do all they can to enforce their existing laws. The governor's going to do everything she can to minimize the damage from the president's deferred-action move and to limit the cost to taxpayers."

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau began accepting deferred-action applications Wednesday, which the Migration Policy Institute says will allow up to 1.8 million illegal aliens under the age of 31 to avoid deportation for up to two years. For the $465 fee, these illegal aliens also would legal authority to work during the term. This will place deferred-action recipients in direction competition for jobs with younger citizens and legal residents, who already face sky-high unemployment rates.

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