Free Republic

At the beginning of July, more than 2,000 families with undocumented immigrants stopped receiving food stamp benefits due to a change in Utah’s rules. Now a growing number of them are showing up at emergency food pantries confused and needing help. “But, of course, I have to feed my family,” said an undocumented mother of five who works as a housekeeper at a nursing home. She is among those who recently lost food aid. Earlier this year, the state announced it would begin to fully count the income earned by all members of a household when determining food stamp eligibility....

SAN BERNARDINO — San Bernardino County is spending an estimated $38 million annually on health, child care and legal services for illegal immigrants, according to the county grand jury’s new report. The final report, released on Friday, calls for the Board of Supervisors to require all county departments and agencies to begin tracking and publishing the cost of providing services to illegal immigrants. Publishing these costs, the report stated, might encourage state and federal governments to “finally take action to solve this issue.” Of the county’s 58 departments and agencies, at least 20 provide some type of service to illegal...

SACRAMENTO – Moving to capitalize on lingering resentment over legislative efforts to grant driver licenses to undocumented aliens, some Republicans plan to launch a broad initiative campaign aimed at barring those in California illegally from collecting welfare, college scholarships or food stamps. The measure, targeted for the March 2006 ballot, also would pre-empt any legislation to allow illegal immigrants to gain driver licenses. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who persuaded the Legislature to repeal such a law, is negotiating a compromise measure with Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, but no deal has been struck. "We have to stop the incentives for coming...