As concerned citizens of Monmouth County we feel we must address the following issues concerning illegal immigrants and their financial burden on our State. We felt the need to address this issue because of the pending bill before the NJ senate (S. Sweeeney S1312).

Social Services - A 7 month pregnant illegal presents herself at the Social Services. She is eligible for Pre Natal Medicaid, which will cover her pregnancy, delivery and 2 months of aftercare. Her child is automatically a US Citizen which entitles the child to cash, food stamps, Medicaid and housing. Understand if the child is entitled to housing the mother (illegal) goes along for the ride, to the tune of between $1000.00 and $2000.00 per month. Also, does the public know that when illegals apply for such programs as food stamps and they state they cannot obtain verification of their income from their employer because the employer is afraid of getting into trouble, the illegal can write a statement stating how much money they earn while US citizens must produce documentation from their employer. Do you really think that someone who has already broken the law by entering the county illegally is being truthful in their income statements? Remember this when you hear about the senior citizens living on Social Security and are eligible for $10.00 per month in food stamps. State regulations dictate that I.C.E. be notified when an illegal comes into the Social Service agency for benefits (see NJAC 10:87). However, Monmouth County Administration have instructed their workers they are not to notify I.C.E. and they have made this public knowledge to all outside agencies. Why is this allowed in Monmouth County when it is not allowed in other counties in the State???

When applying for any government benefits the illegal is producing fake social security cards and fake alien registration cards. They even admit they are purchasing these documents in Atlantic City, New York City or Asbury Park etc. Is Homeland Security aware this is happening??? Would the public be okay with this if the illegal were of Middle Eastern decent???? I think it is unfair to play on the fear of middle eastern terrorists here, but their point is the same none the less - if it is so easy and obvious for an illegal of some other background to obtain these documents and milk the system, why should we think that terrorists of middle eastern decent have it any more difficult than illegals of some other background. To think that some middle eastern terrorists might be getting paid while here illegally and plotting against the US on our tax dollar is troubling.

Advocate groups are representing illegal aliens. They are catering to this illegal population. Tax dollars are being spent to obtain benefits for the anchor babies. Relentless pressure is being put on government workers to overlook regulations that are imposed on US citizens.

Hospitals - Our emergency rooms are overflowing with illegal aliens. They are using them as a primary care provider. Within the past month Riverview Hospital Emergency room was so crowded that ambulances were told to take their patients to other hospitals. Because they are illegal they get charity care. Their income can not be verified therefore they do not have t pay anything whereas the US citizen will have a co-pay for charity care. Illegals could choose to go to the EMO but they do not want to pay out of pocket. Again this burden falls on the taxpayers. Also, the hospitals must provide bi-lingual translators which impacts the cost of running the hospital.

Schools/towns - The impact of educating a student who requires ESL programs is a tax burden compounded by the fact that the parents and students are illegal and not contributing to the tax base of the town, state or country. Having to provide an ESL program is taking away from other programs such as gifted and talented, art and music. It is also worth noting that in many school systems, such as in Long Branch, all letters sent home are two sided, one side in English and one side in Spanish. This means the tax payer pays about double the cost for each of the letters sent home. To further the point, I recently paid $0.04 for single sided flyers to be printed. Double sided flyers were $0.07 each; if I had printed 10,000 letters which might be needed for an entire school system, my cost would be $400 for single sided English only copies, not $700 for double sided, English/Spanish copies, a $300 savings, not to mention the cost savings of having to hire a translator to translate the letter from English to Spanish in the first place. We must legislate English as the official language in order to stop wasting money. In addition to the school burden the towns are burdened because they must provide bi-lingual police, fire and first aiders, etc. Again no taxes are being paid by those costing the most. Again, the burden falls on the taxpayer. And again, you and I, the taxpayer, would pay for lawsuits against "us" if an illegal is picked up for a crime and can't understand their rights being read to them. We would pay for the lawsuit if our first aid department treats a patient with care they have an allergic reaction because the first aid department couldn't understand that the patient was trying to communicate some allergy. The dangers of one nation not speaking a single language are significant. Everyone knows that multiple families are living in apartments meant for one family. Why is no one enforcing the code violation???

All kinds of allowances and exceptions are being given, including subsidized housing, SSI for those residing in this country for 5 years (not paying taxes) for those legal and illegal immigrants. Why is this allowed to continue when our own veterans returning from war are not given preferential treatment. Many suffer from post traumatic stress, are homeless yet there are no special programs available for these veterans. Iraq has been going on for five years and during that time we have spent billions of taxpayers money for various programs that offer aid to illegals while our servicemen are forgotten.

To not address the issue of illegal immigration adds insult to injury when you expect the American taxpayer to make further sacrifices. Seeing as how the governor of New Jersey expects the taxpayers of New Jersey to "bite the billet" why is he not showing his support for the Sweeney bill. After all if we are able to fine those employees that hire illegals we might be able to solve our budget crisis in a way that foes not put the burden on the law abiding citizens of the state of New Jersey. If anyone does not believe this is a problem in Monmouth County we implore you to go and sit in the local hospital emergency room or a social service waiting room and you will be in for an awakening. We need to address this problem NOW!!!!-