Washington Dem lawmaker moves to give illegal immigrants unemployment benefits despite massive budget deficit

Sen. Rebecca Saldaña (D-Seattle) has re-introduced a bill for the new legislative session that began on Monday to help the illegals access unemployment insurance, a program funded with federal and state payroll taxes that are withheld from an employee’s paycheck.

Illegal immigrants are not eligible to apply for work permits and, therefore, unable to register or file for unemployment compensation under federal law. According to the Washington State Standard, over 156,000 illegal immigrants are employed in Washington state.

SB 5023 would require state funds to be set aside for the program for illegal immigrants who don’t qualify for unemployment insurance because of their immigration status. They would be referred through the Employment Security Department’s website to a different website which would be run through a third-party administrative system.

Saldana claims this would protect the identities of illegal immigrants by preventing employers from being held liable for knowingly hiring people without legal immigration status. The program would cost approximately $100 million in the first two-year budget cycle and $140 million in the next cycle, benefiting more than 5,300 workers each year.

Washington is facing a $10-17 billion budget deficit. Incoming Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson has suggested a 6 percent cut across the board as a first step to addressing the deficit. Outgoing Governor Jay Inslee proposed a wealth tax, among other revenue-generating plans to close the gap.

In California, Democrat lawmakers proposed legislation similar to Saldaña’s but it was vetoed by liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom, in light of a massive budget deficit. Fox News reported that he also blocked a bill that would have allowed illegal immigrants better access to home loans and mortgages.

In 2022, Colorado was the first state in the US to pass legislation to set up an unemployment fund for illegal immigrants and budgeted $15 million a year for the program.

Saldana has a history of radical activism. In 2021, she backed controversial progressive candidate Ubax Gardheere, even after a video came out showing the King County Council candidate being arrested after threatening to blow up a school bus filled with children and calling them cowards as they fled. As vice chair of the state's transportation committee, Saldana was also participating in a Zoom call discussing driving laws while on her cell phone and driving, a violation of state law.