(Letter to the Editor - Graphic Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

Oh geez, that delusional weekly letter writer is at it again: This time claiming (without citation) that President Biden is planning to give amnesty and $60,431 in Social Security payments, each, to 29 million illegal immigrants in his last letter titled “Say No to benefits for illegal immigrants.” Such an outlandish claim only serves to alarm readers and portray the president as a villain — it ain’t true.

I’m aware of no such proposal, by Biden or anyone, so I searched the web trying find out what the writer was talking about. That search yielded no results and most of the news articles — regarding immigration reform — that did appear date to 2021 or earlier. So, did the writer just make-up a fictional proposal to portray Biden as the Bogeyman or did he land on some fringe website spreading misinformation (lies) and simply regurgitated in the News and Sentinel? (No Editorial Disclaimer was noted)

It’s widely acknowledged, by both political parties, that our immigration system is a mess and has been for decades. Part of the fix for that mess may include a “path to citizenship” for immigrants that have been here for years; working and paying taxes (see Heritage Foundation). Many studies acknowledge that current illegal immigrants are a benefit to Social Security as they pay the taxes, but are not eligible for benefits (see Cato Institute). I imagine that any future benefit eligibility granted to immigrants would be the same as natural citizens and based on what has been paid during years worked — not the $60,000 windfall the writer infers.

In the words of Moynihan: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts”.

Jeff DeVol

Williamstown