Bar Quake Aid to Non-Citizens, Lawmaker Says

Illegal immigrants who suffered losses in the Northridge earthquake should not receive federal relief funds, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher says.

An outspoken critic of illegal immigration, the Huntington Beach Republican said Saturday that he plans to introduce legislation that would require disaster victims to show proof of legal residency before receiving funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“I want the people of California to understand that hundreds of millions of dollars that should be going to them as citizens and legal residents are instead going to illegal aliens, and it’s absolutely outrageous,” said Rohrabacher, who believes that federal policies encourage illegal immigration.

“Once people realize that there is free money available, the line will be never-ending and will reach all the way to the border,” the three-term congressman said.

An immigrant rights activist called Rohrabacher’s comments racist, accusing him of trying to further his political career on the backs of undocumented immigrants.

“I didn’t think that there was anyone that cruel,” said Arturo Montes, state director of urban affairs for the League of United Latin American Citizens. “This is a situation where someone is drowning, and he wants to say: ‘Show me some ID before I rescue you,’ ” Montes said. “This is racist, and it’s worse than those people selling a loaf of bread for $10,” Montes said.

Rohrabacher said he was aware that his comments would draw criticism, but that he believes that federal funds should go only to legal citizens.

“The fact is that there are limited amounts of emergency funds in the country,” Rohrabacher said. “I’m not kicking anybody when they are up or down. I’m saying we have to use our hearts, but we have to use our heads.”