Keeping undocumented immigrants off the dole is easier said than done

But before the House maneuvering gets underway, the bill needs to get through the Senate. And some proposed amendments are putting passage in that chamber in jeopardy, too. Marshall Fitz, a major player in the 2006-2007 immigration battles who now runs immigration policy at the Center for American Progress, has said he considers the “three Bs” to be the biggest threats to passing a reform bill: “border security, benefits and biometrics.”

A new report by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities highlights amendments by Rubio, and Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala). (Sessions’s amendments were rejected in committee, and he’s likely to oppose the bill.)

Rubio is a Gang of Eight member, and Hatch voted for the bill in committee, but bothhave signaled that their support is tentative and that they could oppose the final bill. The lawmakers have three amendments that deal with benefits. The first prevents Social Security and Medicare taxes paid by undocumented immigrants who are then legalized from counting toward benefits upon those citizens’ retirement.

The second would ban formerly undocumented immigrants from receiving exchange subsidies under Obamacare for the first five years after they become lawful permanent residents. The bill as written denies subsidies to formerly undocumented immigrants who have not yet become permanent residents but allows permanent residents — such as permanent residents who were never here illegally — to receive the subsidies.

The third would require undocumented workers applying for legal status to not just pay back taxes but to prove that they have paid the full amount owed, including the employer share of the payroll tax if their employers had not withheld that share.???

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