Defying President Trump's immigration crackdown, Illinois' Democratic governor J.B. Pritzker is expanding public benefits for illegal aliens at taxpayer expense.
It's a peculiar move from a Democratic governor who has his eyes set on the White House - with one Republican blasting Pritzker's move as a "slap in the face" to hard-working Americans, Fox News reported.
The push comes despite budget shortfalls that have already forced Pritzker to rein in spending on illegal aliens.
Pritzker ended a program in July, Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults (HBIA), that would have cost the state $404 million this year. The program, which Pritzker launched in 2021, provided health insurance for illegal aliens aged 42 to 64 at taxpayer expense.
But the governor is still finding ways to move leftward on immigration - an issue that Democrats mishandled disastrously under President Biden, turning public opinion sharply against the party.
House Bill 460, which Pritzker has now signed into law, ensures that Illinois students who are "not otherwise eligible for federal financial aid," such as illegal aliens, can receive state and local government benefits such as scholarships, grants, and room and board assistance.
The law was championed by state Sen. Celina Villanueva, a Democrat, who says the law guarantees that "no student is left behind because of where they were born.”
Pritzker's law "eliminates the patchwork of confusing and sometimes conflicting requirements that have excluded undocumented, DACAmented, and mixed-status students from critical aid," Villanueva said.
Rep. Mary Miller (Il.) blasted Pritzker for " a slap in the face to hardworking Illinois families and students.”
“Our state is drowning in debt, yet JB Pritzker is determined to drain even more taxpayer dollars to reward illegals,” she said. “It’s absolutely shameful.”
Pritzker has long championed Illinois as a "sanctuary" where illegal aliens can find refuge from federal immigration law and receive public benefits.
The governor has garnered headlines recently for sheltering Texas Democrats who fled their state to block a Republican redistricting push. Pritzker has threatened to gerrymander Illinois in response, even though the state already has one of the most aggressive Democratic gerrymanders in the nation.
With his latest move to welcome illegal aliens, Pritzker is apparently trying to position himself as an anti-Trump figure ahead of the Democratic presidential primary in 2028 - and Illinois residents will be left paying the price.
“Illinois taxpayers should not have their hard-earned taxpayer dollars pay for benefits to illegal immigrants who shouldn’t be here in the first place,” a spokesperson for the state's Republicans told Fox News Digital.
