Alexandria, VA (January 4, 2006) - A "guest worker" immigration plan advocated by President Bush and a pending U.S. Social Security Totalization Agreement with Mexico are "time bombs" for Social Security, warns a national non-partisan seniors issue advocacy organization. "Under both proposals, immigrants who worked in this country illegally, using fraudulent Social Security numbers, could collect Social Security based on their earnings while illegal," states Ralph McCutchen, Chairman of TREA Senior Citizens League (TSCL). "Yet the American public has recently been told that Social Security is already unsustainable as it is now, and that benefits have to be cut," McCutchen points out. "A Social Security agreement with Mexico would undoubtedly trigger benefit cuts even sooner," he says.
Immigration reform legislation is under consideration in Congress, and President Bush has made it clear that he wants such legislation to contain "guest worker" provisions.[1] "TSCL believes that President Bush may try to use this legislative opportunity to send the U.S. - Mexico Social Security agreement to Congress," says McCutchen.
The U.S. currently has 20 such agreements with other countries, but those nations have economies similar to ours. The agreements are intended to ensure that persons who spend part of their careers working in another country are not subjected to double Social Security taxation for the same set of earnings. They also allow workers to total the amount of time worked in both countries in order to qualify for Social Security benefits. The agreement with Mexico would be the first with a developing nation with a large population where millions of workers are in the U.S. illegally.
"TSCL believes the Bush Administration has grossly underestimated the cost of this agreement," states McCutchen. "The estimates do not include the number of Mexicans who entered this country illegally and paid Social Security taxes using fraudulent Social Security numbers. In addition, we believe such an agreement will provide yet another incentive for more illegal immigration," McCutchen adds.
In 2003, Barbara Bovbjerg of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified that the cost of a Totalization Agreement with Mexico was "highly uncertain" because the Bush Administration estimates did not include the number of illegal immigrants that would become eligible for benefits under such an agreement.[2] Under current law, all reported earnings from employment in the United States count towards earning Social Security benefits regardless of the legal status of immigrants working in this country.[3] While recent law changes prohibit illegal immigrants from collecting Social Security benefits, President Bush's "guest worker" proposal, as well as a pending U.S. Social Security Totalization Agreement with Mexico would give many illegal immigrants temporary legal status and access to valid Social Security numbers.
TSCL endorses two resolutions that would formally reject the U.S. Social Security Totalization Agreement with Mexico. They are H. Con. Res. 50, introduced by Representative Virgil Goode, Jr. (VA), and H. Res. 20, introduced by Representative J.D. Hayworth (AZ). The resolutions would disapprove the agreement, stopping its implementation. "This would be the only way for Congress to stop the U.S./Mexico Social Security Totalization Agreement once the President signs and sends it to Congress," McCutchen says. "We urge seniors to contact their Representative in the House and ask him or her to take action to stop the Agreement," McCutchen adds.
TSCL is a national group of politically active seniors concerned about the protection of their earned Social Security, Medicare, and other retirement benefits. TSCL members participate in a number of grassroots lobbying and public education campaigns designed to try to ensure governmental bodies, including the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, live up to their commitments. For more free information on our organization, please contact TREA Senior Citizens League, Department SW601, 909 N. Washington St., Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22314, or visit our website at: www.tscl.org.
[1] Hose Poised to Approve Tough Border Security Measure, Rachel Swarns, The New York Times, December 13, 2005.
[2] Proposed Totalization Agreement With Mexico Presents Unique Challenges, Statement of Barbara D. Bovbjerg, GAO, September 11, 2003.
[3] Ibid.
Distributed by The Senior Exchange, Inc.
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January 2006
