Yeah I know the program is currently voluntary. I'd like to see it mandatory, just as asking for ID is currently mandatory and has been for some years.
Encourage congress to start cutting off federal funding...
"While I agree with you, I just don't see it happening."
As for cutting off funding, it's up to us as citizens to push our politcians in congress on the issue, and financially support and vote for those candidates who will take action.
Work to prevent allowing illegals access to social benefits at any level. "Including those aliens receiving aid solely because they have kids?"
What aid are you referring to that is received solely because of kids?
"The U.S. Treasury department has already stated that they don't see any reason why banks can't accept the matriculas."
Then let's pass a law prohibiting it.
"Since the amnesty of 1986, I won't believe anything the feds have to say. I haven't seen any articles where they talk about more border patrol agents, have you? "
No and that's one of the problems with this whole idea. It didn't work in '86 and the mini amnesties since then, and now we have 8 to 23 million more illegals (depending on whose numbers you use) than we did back when they "solved" the problem of illegal immigration.
In California about the only welfare/services available to a single adult would perhaps be general welfare (a check), food stamps and possible Medi-Cal coverage. I'm not sure what's available in regards to subsidized housing, if anything.
With kids, it can start from the get-go with "free" prenatal care and delivery. All children, legal or not, are required to attend school and they most likely qualify for free breakfast, lunch and in some cases, after school care. Kids can be enrolled in Head Start programs. There's WIC, food stamps (based on the size of the family), subsidized housing and health care programs. I can't even remember the names of some of programs California has besides MediCal. One is called Healthy Families (or something like that).
What I'm getting at is that an adult, with no kids and who is under 65 years of age, just doesn't qualify for much assistance. If you have children, however, then the floodgates open.
The children need an education, the children need health care (and we want the children to have healthy parents, don't we?), the children need to eat, the children need a house/apt. to live in, etc. The fact that the money/services also benefit their parents is irrelevant.
(Am I making any sense? I feel like I need more coffee.)
A good bit of the money spent on social services goes to the American citizen children of illegal aliens. Lots of babies are being born in the US to illegals, & those kids are automatically American citizens. Though the parents may be employed, many hold menial jobs w/ low incomes and little or no benefits. They are classic working poor & the kids qualify for a whole gamut of social services, notably Medicaid.