The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) warned governors across the U.S. and overseas territories to prevent illegal migrants from claiming unemployment benefits or risk losing federal grants.
“[I]t is critical that we ensure American taxpayer dollars do not go towards encouraging or rewarding illegal immigration to the United States,” Lori Chavez-DeRemer, United States Secretary of Labor, wrote in a letter dated April 24 to each governor.
Chavez-DeRemer reminded the governors that employment authorization was a prerequisite to securing employment.
“Unemployment benefits are not a handout for those in our country illegally,” Chavez-DeRemer said.
Compliance with the directive, Chavez-DeRemer wrote, would be in line with President Donald Trump’s presidential memorandum aimed at preventing illegal migrants from receiving social security benefits and his executive order aimed at preventing taxpayer dollars from incentivizing illegal immigration into the country.
She urged them to use the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration database to vet claimants. The database “is a critical tool in the toolbox in ensuring that illegal immigrants do not access our nation’s unemployment benefits,” she wrote.
States that would not comply with “their existing legal obligations regarding immigrant access to unemployment benefits” risked losing their “Title III UI [Unemployment Insurance] administrative grant,” according to Chavez-DeRemer.