The
Government Accountability Office (GAO) released in a new report that
in 2014 the United States is still the largest remittance-sending
country in the world, citing that in 2014 foreign-born residents,
particularly from illegal immigrants, sent an estimated $54.2 billion
in remittances, most of it going to Mexico. The World Bank’s
Bilateral Remittance Matrix, estimates that $25 billion was sent to
Mexico, $15 billion to China, and $10 billion to India as the top
three beneficiaries.
This
report was requested and released by U. S. Sen. David Vitter on
Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, to show the need to pass S. 79, The
Remittance Status Verification Act, also known as the Wire Act, a
bill he introduced in Jan. 2013 and re-introduced in Jan. 2015. The
bill would require a fee on remittances for customers who wire money
to another country but cannot prove that they are in the United
States legally, with the charged fee, estimated to be $1 billion
would go to improving border security.
It
would seem that there is a gross under-reporting of foreign-born
residents income, particularly from illegal immigrants. It also
shows how allowing the breaking of one law leads to the breaking of
other laws. The so-called poor, under-serviced, in the shadows
immigrant that get free education, free lunches, free medical care
and other free benefits, that are paid for by the hard working United
States taxpayer, seem to be doing better than the average United
States citizens. Maybe this is why our legislators don't care to
pass this kind of legislation – their money talks louder than ours.
“The
Obama administration has shown a complete lack of both competence and
interest when it comes to securing our borders and enforcing our
immigration laws. And that’s costing us a lot of money. Billions,
in fact,” Vitter said. “The GAO reports I have requested and made
public today help us determine how massive the remittances problem is
with illegal immigrants sending billions out of the U.S. – money
they likely haven’t paid income taxes on. What my legislation would
do is basically improve on our border security while making illegal
immigrants pay for it.”
