Social Security payments to illegals would threaten the program for U.S. citizens

After three years of arguments and Freedom of Information Act requests, the Social Security Administration has finally released a copy of the U.S.-Mexico Social Security Totalization Agreement. (See the agreement at http://www.tscl.org/NewContent/Totalization_Agreement.pdf)

The organization which sought the document said it shows what was expected, that Social Security payments to illegal alien Mexicans in the U.S. would be a huge threat to the future of Social Security. Any Mexican worker with as little as 18 months of employment history in the U.S. could end up qualifying for some Social Security retirement benefits.

Estimates of the number of illegals in the U.S. range to 20 million. Most are from Mexico. If even some of them qualify for Social Security benefits, the costs could quickly run into the billions.

The “Totalization” agreement between the United States and Mexico was signed in June 2004, and is now awaiting President Bush's signature. Once that signature is in place, the U.S. House and Senate have only 60 days to disapprove the agreement by voting to reject it.

The Center for Immigration Studies says the plan ‘represents a sell-out of American workers and their families.' 'Such a one-sided pact with its enormous financial risks should never have been negotiated in the first place,' it concluded.

The CIS said the agreement would attract illegals to the U.S., while providing only marginal benefits to any U.S. workers or employers in Mexico.