Illegal immigration has proven to be costly for Americans, as we have noted in the past. Last Friday, President Donald Trump, in a move designed to stem some of that cost, signed an executive order that aims to prevent American taxpayers from subsidizing the healthcare costs of noncitizens. The order states, “While our healthcare system grapples with the challenges caused by uncompensated care, the United States Government is making the problem worse by admitting thousands of aliens who have not demonstrated any ability to pay for their healthcare costs. Notably, data show that lawful immigrants are about three times more likely than United States citizens to lack health insurance. Immigrants who enter this country should not further saddle our healthcare system, and subsequently American taxpayers, with higher costs.”

The new rule notes that uncompensated care costs for hospitals alone exceeded $35 billion each year over the last 10 years, which amounts to approximately $7 million for each hospital in the U.S. Furthermore, The Daily Wire reports, “States and cities across the country are also spending billions on aid to illegal aliens. Los Angeles County, for instance, paid nearly $1.3 billion in welfare money during 2015 and 2016 to families of illegal aliens. That number amounts to one-​quarter of the total spent on the county’s entire needy population.”

It’s important to note that Trump’s order does not pertain to refugees and those seeking political asylum.

Meanwhile, socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has decided that after funding her $93 trillion Green New Deal, there’ll be plenty left over to provide universal welfare, including free healthcare coverage, even for illegal aliens. Included in AOC’s “A Just Society” package of six bills of wretched socialism is “The Embrace Act,” which the Wire observes “would allow illegal aliens to claim the same welfare benefits as all U.S. citizens and legal immigrants.” Trumpeting the Left’s “woke” social-justice rhetoric, AOC falsely asserts, “Our nation must recognize that our history — immigrants, enslaved peoples, and refugees built this country. We all do better when we create a just society that embraces our most vulnerable populations and paves a path to prosperity for all. This bill would ensure that all persons in need are eligible for the largest programs of the social safety net, regardless of their immigration status.”

This is part and parcel of the Left’s efforts to redefine “rights” to mean obligations to favored constituents paid for by American taxpayers. That’s an upside-down view of rights, and it’s not just expensive, it’s wrong.