During a campaign stop in Davenport, Iowa, presidential hopeful Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said illegal immigrants in America should be allowed to receive social security benefits, along with a pathway to citizenship.
“First, we need comprehensive immigration reform,” the New York senator stated.
“If you are in this country now you must have the right to pay into Social Security, to pay your taxes, to pay into the local school system and to have a pathway to citizenship. That must happen,” Gillibrand said.
Gillibrand also faced scrutiny earlier this week over comments she made during an MSNBC town hall Monday when she said, “Immigration is not a security issue. It is an economic and a humanitarian and a family issue.”
“There is no such thing as an illegal human,” Gillibrand added.
Gillibrand’s latest positions on illegal immigration have shifted greatly from those in her past.
Gillibrand once stated that she believes English should be the official language in America. In 2009, she voted for an increase in funding for ICE.
According to current law, only legal residents of the United States are entitled to Social Security benefits after they pay into the program for a certain amount of time.
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