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RUSH: The Politico has gone out and found a bunch of conservatives, so-called, that are really mad at the Heritage Foundation and their immigration report. Yeah. The Politico claims that “the right,” quote/unquote immediately tried to shut down the Heritage’s immigration report within hours, and these conservatives that tried to shut down the Heritage report within hours are Paul Ryan, and Douglas Holtz-Eakin — an economist, former adviser to McCain who recently signed an amicus brief in support of same-sex marriage.

It’s Haley Barbour, who attacked Romney during the 2012 campaign for being too hard on illegal aliens, The Cato Institute (which is libertarian), and Grover Norquist. So those are the conservative that The Politico found. Well, they didn’t find ’em. These guys were actively trying to shut down the Heritage Foundation’s immigration report at all costs and the other details that we told you about yesterday. But Politico’s not alone here. The memo went out yesterday, and we’re getting the same story from the entire media echo chamber.

They’re all citing similar conservatives who are very suspect on the subject of amnesty, Grover Norquist and others. The counterargument that is being offered here to the Heritage study is this, and this is from The Politico article: “Most economists on the right and the left insist that immigration reform would be more or less a wash, because immigrants would be paying taxes that would help support Social Security and social programs like food stamps and housing aid.”

That’s in The Politico piece. Now, I’m sorry, but that’s pathetically wrong. Forty-seven percent of Americans are not paying income tax, and I guarantee you those who would be made citizens via amnesty would also be in the income range where they wouldn’t be paying any tax. This idea that the cost so the social structure, the safety net structure in this country be overwhelmed by amnesty, is absurd.

The Politico found some Republicans, “No, no, no, it would be a wash because these new citizens would be immediately paying taxes.” Well, they’re already a bunch of Americans paying taxes, and how come we’ve got massive deficits? How come it isn’t a wash already with the existing taxpayers? The idea that we can legalize 11 million new citizens within a short few years of a time frame and put no strain on the social safety net? But that’s how the Heritage report is being attacked in The Politico, in the mainstream media, and they’ve gone out and they’ve found people who identify themselves as conservatives to oppose it.

Maybe I’m wrong, but isn’t it somewhat obvious that most of these immigrants who would then find themselves on this pathway to citizenship, amnesty, whatever, wouldn’t they end up among the 47% who aren’t paying any income tax? Isn’t it a matter of mathematics? Yeah, initially. They’re gonna get money back from the earned income tax credit. In addition to not paying taxes, they’re gonna immediately qualify for the earned income tax credit, which is going to get them cash back. So they’re not gonna be contributing any more money, tax money than they already do. I mean, they’re paying sales tax, yes, but that isn’t gonna change. If they are employed and they’re not in a cash business, they are having Social Security, payroll tax, withheld.

There’s one question we could ask. If legalizing illegal aliens, making them citizens, is such a boon to the economy, why are all these sanctuary cities and the states they are located doing so poorly? If there is a grand financial benefit to the pathway to citizenship, why is California in such dire financial circumstances?

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Back to the phones to Chicago. This is Michael. It’s great to have you on the program, sir. Hello.

CALLER: Hi, Rush. How you doing today?

RUSH: Very well. Appreciate your asking.

CALLER: Yeah, I just want to let you know, my dad used to make me listen to you when I was in high school and he always said that I would learn more from you than I would ever learn from my teachers.

RUSH: The punishment, the punishment, your dad made you listen.

CALLER: Well, we would always go driving, you know, to the golf course or whatever, and I’d want to listen to music, and he’d have you on, and I’d complain, and he’d force me to listen.

RUSH: God bless him, ’cause here you are.

CALLER: Yeah, exactly. The reason I was calling is I wanted to call about the notion that illegal immigrants are hiding in the shadows. I mean, you hear Barack Obama say that, and I even think Marco Rubio said it on your show, you know, about illegal immigrants hiding in the shadows. Well, I lived in Las Vegas for three years, and I was a bartender in my early twenties in Las Vegas, and I have friends who were illegal immigrants and legal immigrants. My ex-wife is an illegal immigrant, and they’re not hiding in the shadows, Rush. They have driver’s licenses. They drive cars. They get medical care. They work. They live the same lives as regular legal Americans do. So this whole notion that they’re hiding in the shadows, you know, they’re hiding from police and they’re scared they’re gonna sent back to wherever they’re from, I mean, that’s patently false, it’s untrue.

RUSH: So what do you think is meant by it, when, say, an Obama or a Chuck Schumer or any advocate for the pathway to citizenship talks about them living in the shadows, what do you think they mean, and what kind of picture are they trying to paint?

CALLER: Well, they’re trying to paint a picture of these people that are afraid and they’re scared and they’re afraid to be seen by other people because they’re afraid that they might get sent back to wherever they’re from, that they’re not able to partake in what makes America great —

RUSH: Yep.

CALLER: — but that’s just not true, because they go to the mall, they do all these great things that we do ’cause we’re free. You know, they have the same freedoms that we do, it’s just that they don’t have actual legal status. But, I mean, they’re not sitting around hiding behind rocks afraid that they’re gonna be sent back to wherever they’re from.

RUSH: They’re not huddled in the corners of dilapidated tenements?

CALLER: Right. I mean, when my daughter was born, you know, she was born in a hospital. It’s not like we went to the hospital and they found out my wife was an illegal immigrant and they said, “No, you need to go.” My daughter was born in the hospital, and my ex-father-in-law —

RUSH: That’s a good point. A lot of Los Angeles hospitals, emergency rooms are shut down because of all the business from unpaying illegal — you’re right, the attempt here is to paint a picture of America oppressing innocent, decent, good loving, hardworking people. How could we be so mean? Yep. It’s always America’s fault.

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