Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate on Dems blaming Putin for inflation: 'We don't buy it'
Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate and current state senator Doug Mastriano discusses his proposed legislation to place fees on money transfers made by illegal immigrants in his state and slams Democrats for blaming Russia for inflation.
Pennsylvania state senator and GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano is proposing a new way to address the influx of illegal immigrants in his state.
Mastriano joined "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday to discuss his proposed state legislation to put a tax on migrants to address the financial toll the border crisis has put on Pennsylvania.
MIGRANTS SNAP SELFIES AT BORDER AFTER CROSSING INTO US
Mastriano and fellow Republicans want to place a fee on international remittances made by illegal immigrants and divert the revenue to help Pennsylvanians with property taxes and rent relief.
"Every state in America is a border state now. We have the Biden administration flying in illegals in small airports, direct flights from El Paso, Texas dropping them off, buses pick them up, and they disappear in the state. This is killing our state and putting a heavy burden on taxpayers," he told host Todd Piro.
The legislation, in the form of an amendment to the Money Transmission Business Licensing Law of 1965, was sponsored by 2022 gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, a state senator from Gettysburg. He had been joined by at least three other senators as of Friday afternoon.
"[This] is a unique bill that will place a fee on those types of transactions. It’s a great way to deter illegal immigration — and we can put that new revenue towards tax breaks for legal citizens in our commonwealth," Mastriano announced.
PA REPUBLICANS DRAFT BILL DIVERTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM SECRETIVE BIDEN-DHS FLIGHTS TO DELAWARE
YUMA, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 07: Immigrant men from many countries are taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border on December 07, 2021 in Yuma, Arizona. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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Mastriano explained most workers who are in the U.S. illegally are paid "under the table," with a total of $17 billion a year sent out of the country.
"Make them pay up, since they're skipping taxes," he added, hoping the fee could generate about $80 million to help elderly residents with rising property taxes.
"I'm hoping that it could reduce their property tax bill, at least by half, because we have about 10,000 homes a year in Pennsylvania that are lost, mostly by the elderly, because they can't keep up with our ridiculous property taxes that increase every year," he said.
Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report