A Washington state Democrat is floating a policy to help protect unemployed illegal immigrants who are unable to receive unemployment benefits.
The news comes as President-elect Trump and his border czar-designate Thomas Homan signal a crackdown on illegal immigration and talk of “mass deportation” plans in a reversal of the Biden-era status quo.
State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña is introducing a bill that would ensure Washington residents legally ineligible to work in the U.S. – a group for which illegal immigrants compose the vast majority – have access to assistance.
Saldaña, of Seattle, declined to comment further on her bill to Fox News Digital, but a representative for the lawmaker noted she had previously highlighted “undocumented workers’ … substantial contributions to Washington’s economy.”
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That group collectively paid almost $400 million in unemployment taxes over the past 10 years, and the bill will aim to ensure those who pay into the system are able to rely on it when they need to, her office said.
The representative said Saldaña has reintroduced similar legislation during both Democrat and Republican administrations in the past because the “inequities in our immigration system” are systemic and longstanding.
Saldaña has previously argued that providing unemployment benefits to undocumented workers who qualify will help stabilize the workforce and prevent future cases of poverty and homelessness due to job loss.
It will therefore have lasting positive effects on the Evergreen State’s economy, her office said.
Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said he had not seen the text of the bill as of Monday afternoon but was aware of the proposal itself.
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“We have a lot of work to do on immigration, both on undocumented immigrants and on legal immigration in our state. That’s largely a federal issue,” Braun said.
“I look for the folks in D.C. to handle [the immigration issue] and for us [in state government] to stay clear.”
Under federal law, illegal immigrants are not eligible to apply for work permits and, therefore, unable to register or file for unemployment compensation. Neither are individuals with expired work authorizations and dependents of people living in the U.S. under several visa classifications.
The excluded visa classes include O – “extraordinary ability”; R – Religious worker; and F – student visas.
According to a 1985 memo from the Department of Labor, “an alien must be legally authorized to work in the United States to be considered ‘available for work’ – Therefore, an alien without current, valid authorization to work from the INS is not legally ‘available for work’ and not eligible for benefits.”
The memo referred to the INS, or Immigration and Naturalization Service, a predecessor entity to today’s Department of Homeland Security.
Elsewhere in the U.S., the Colorado Office of New Americans allows undocumented workers to access a “Benefit Recovery Fund” to help those who have been “separated from employment through no fault of their own” and meet several other specifications.
In California, however, Democrat lawmakers sought to offer assistance similar to that Saldaña is seeking but were blocked by fellow liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom vetoed that legislation in September and also blocked a proposal that would have allowed illegal immigrants better access to home loans and mortgages.
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