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Congressional Republicans criticized policies this week that could allow millions of immigrants granted Social Security numbers through President Barack Obamas executive actions to receive as much as four years of tax credits from the Internal Revenue Service. Critics of Obamas program are attempting to pass a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, which polices immigration, ahead of a Feb. 27 shutdown deadline that would reverse the president's program, according to the Associated Press.

"I represent hard-working, law-biding Texans," said Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee. "I think these amnesty rewards, and that's what they are, need to be stopped."

Obama took executive action in November to protect millions of illegal immigrants from deportation. Immigrants who have since received Social Security numbers can now apply for tax credits worth up to $24,000, depending on the size of their families.

Defenders of the program argue many illegal immigrants pay taxes and should be eligible for the same benefits as anyone else who pays taxes. Illegal immigrants paid an estimated $100 billion into Social Security in the last 10 years, chief actuary Stephen Goss estimated. Illegal immigrants who pay taxes still arent eligible for many federal programs, such as food stamps or federal student loans.

Workers cannot legally work in the United States without a Social Security number. With Social Security numbers received through Obamas executive action, immigrants who once faced deportation can now be eligible to receive Social Security benefits after 10 years of paying taxes.

The immigrants are immediately eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit as long as they can provide proof of earnings and meet income requirements. Applicants can retroactively seek credits from income dating back to 2011, at a maximum rate of $6,000 per year for families with three or more children.

"The administration may have blown open the doors for fraud with amnesty bonuses of more than $24,000 to those who receive deferred action," Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., told the AP. "This program severely undermines the White House's lip-service to enforcing the law and would increase the burden on law-abiding taxpayers."

GOP lawmakers in Kansas and Ohio warned earlier this monthObamas executive action could lead to an increase in illegally registered voters, as states lack the capacity to verify eligibility. Top Republican leaders have criticized Obamas measures as an abuse of power.

House Republicans have thrice passed bills that would fund the DHS while repealing Obamas executive actions, only to see all three bills fail in the Senate. The DHS will face a shutdown if legislators do not pass a funding bill by Feb. 27.

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Immigration Reform 2015: Republicans Oppose Tax Credits ...

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Congressional Republicans criticized policies this week that could allow millions of immigrants granted Social Security numbers through President Barack Obamas executive actions to receive as much as four years of tax credits from the Internal Revenue Service. Critics of Obamas program are attempting to pass a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, which polices immigration, ahead of a Feb. 27 shutdown deadline that would reverse the president's program, according to the Associated Press.

"I represent hard-working, law-biding Texans," said Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee. "I think these amnesty rewards, and that's what they are, need to be stopped."

Obama took executive action in November to protect millions of illegal immigrants from deportation. Immigrants who have since received Social Security numbers can now apply for tax credits worth up to $24,000, depending on the size of their families.

Defenders of the program argue many illegal immigrants pay taxes and should be eligible for the same benefits as anyone else who pays taxes. Illegal immigrants paid an estimated $100 billion into Social Security in the last 10 years, chief actuary Stephen Goss estimated. Illegal immigrants who pay taxes still arent eligible for many federal programs, such as food stamps or federal student loans.

Workers cannot legally work in the United States without a Social Security number. With Social Security numbers received through Obamas executive action, immigrants who once faced deportation can now be eligible to receive Social Security benefits after 10 years of paying taxes.

The immigrants are immediately eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit as long as they can provide proof of earnings and meet income requirements. Applicants can retroactively seek credits from income dating back to 2011, at a maximum rate of $6,000 per year for families with three or more children.

"The administration may have blown open the doors for fraud with amnesty bonuses of more than $24,000 to those who receive deferred action," Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., told the AP. "This program severely undermines the White House's lip-service to enforcing the law and would increase the burden on law-abiding taxpayers."

GOP lawmakers in Kansas and Ohio warned earlier this monthObamas executive action could lead to an increase in illegally registered voters, as states lack the capacity to verify eligibility. Top Republican leaders have criticized Obamas measures as an abuse of power.

House Republicans have thrice passed bills that would fund the DHS while repealing Obamas executive actions, only to see all three bills fail in the Senate. The DHS will face a shutdown if legislators do not pass a funding bill by Feb. 27.

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Immigration Reform 2015: Republicans Oppose Tax Credits For Immigrants As DHS Shutdown Looms

Vice President Biden was in Iowa this week, doing something that looked suspiciously like presidential campaigning.While speakingatDrake University in Des Moines on Thursday, he struck a populist tone, and even made his very first gaffe of the 2016 campaign("butt buddies").

For a journalist who writes about foreign policy, however, it was somethingelse that stood out. Biden, while talking about President Obama's immigration reform, told the audiencethatthe United States was the"only country in the world that isn't xenophobic."

That's a remarkably bold statement, even by the lofty standards of American exceptionalism: The vice president isn't just saying that levels of xenophobia are low or that America is less xenophobic than its rivals. He's sayingthat the United Statesis not xenophobic, period, and every other country in the world is.

ForBiden, America's lack of xenophobia is a recurring theme. Last year, he caused a minor stir by making a similarstatement at an event of theNational Association of Manufacturers.Look at Germany, look at the rest of the world," Biden said. "Were the only non-xenophobic nation in the world thats a major economy.

Of course, noteveryone is convinced by these statements. And certainly, thetiming of Biden's latest comment seems especially unfortunate. Itcomes just daysafter an Indian grandfatherwas left paralyzed after being thrown to the ground by an Alabama police officerand just days after three young Arab Americans were shot dead in North Carolina. Is this the xenophobia-free country Biden was talking about?

Xenophobia -- defined as a "fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners" -- isn't an easy thing to measure, especially on an international scale. It's often conflated with personally held racism or religious prejudice, which is alsoparticularly difficult to measure across the world. For example, a couple of years ago, WorldViews published a map that attempted to chart racial prejudice around the world, using data from aWorld Values Survey. The map showed the percentage of respondents who listed"people of a different race" as those they would not want for neighbors.

The United Statesdid scorewell in this ranking, appearing to be one of the most racially tolerant countries on Earth. However,many observers pointed out that the way the question was phrased made it difficult to compare across countries: The very concept of race significantly differed around the world.

"The challenge is that for some places, this is about race, for others it is about religion or language, etc.," Steve Saideman, an academic who studies race and ethnic conflict, explains in an e-mail. "So, it is hard to write a good set of questions that applies universally."

Saideman suggests that an easier way to define xenophobia -- and, importantly, one that Biden himself appears to be referencing -- is in terms of attitudes to immigration. Here, U.S.history is obvious: It's a country built around massive immigration, and that still holds true today. Despite some bitter opposition, the country does let in a hugeamount of immigrants when compared to other countries.

For evidence, check out thischart below, which uses data compiled by the Migration Policy Institute. It comparesimmigrant populations over the past few decades betweenthe United States andother major economies. The United States is far, far ahead.

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WorldViews: Joe Bidens weird insistence that the U.S. is the only non-xenophobic country in the world

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