Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo claimed that illegal immigrants could receive a universal basic income based on recent proposal.
The Uplift Harris pilot program set by Harris County Democrats would allocate $20.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay out $500 monthly to approximately 1,500 families for eighteen months. The program officially came up for a vote on Tuesday where Hidalgo, an advocate for the proposal, defended paying poor citizens as well as "the undocumented community."
"And so what we do is we pick the ten poorest neighborhoods. Can the undocumented community apply? If the county attorney says they can, they will. If the county attorney says they can’t, they won’t. What I was told is they can," Hidalgo said.
She also pushed back against what she considered unreasonable behavior from Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia.
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"Excuse me Commissioner, you take a liking to interrupting the women, so let me finish and let the director finish," Hidalgo said.
She added, "If we’re just looking to delay the vote on this, just vote no, Commissioner. We all know you’ve got a bone to pick with certain folks."
The universal basic income program would target residents living below 200% of the poverty line in high-poverty zip codes. If approved, it would begin in the fall.
In a statement supporting the proposal, Hidalgo said, "It is uncivilized that we live in a society where people cannot afford basic necessities. As county leaders, we have a duty to employ all the tools that we can to reduce poverty. This pilot program will support the people that work incredibly hard day and night but still need an uplift."
During the hearing, Hidalgo called out critics of the program, insisting that they be "honest" about why they oppose it.
"Let’s be honest about the conversations that we have. Now we’re having conversations about the money that goes toward the poor. So why did we give $5 million, $6 million to the district attorney that she spent without the court’s initial approval at the objection of the budget director that put us into a deficit? Why didn’t we give that to the poor? What about the funds to the courtrooms that put us on the desks here? Why didn’t we give that to the poor? So if you don’t like this program, Commissioner, if you don’t like the female director, just vote no for it," Hidalgo said.
Because of the Democratic majority on the Harris County Commissioners Court, the program is likely to pass.
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Universal basic income has been proposed in various states and cities over the past few years. Most recently, the Oregon legislature proposed a bill that would "provide 12 monthly payments of $1,000 to individuals who are experiencing homelessness, are at risk of homelessness, are severely rent burdened or earn at or below 60 percent of area median income."
