South Carolina State Rep. John Graham Altman said Friday that Fox News wants him to be a guest on "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on Monday to discuss his bill that would prohibit illegal aliens from collecting South Carolina lottery winnings.
The Charleston Republican filed his bill in February.
"It'll have a good chance if I can get on Fox. Everybody says it's a good idea," he said.
Cavuto's hour-long live show is billed as the No. 1 business news program on cable TV. It airs at 4 p.m. weekdays.
Altman said it is "downright absurd" that illegal aliens can collect state lottery winnings.
He said supporters of his legislation have contacted him from around the country.
Under his bill, lottery winners would have to show proof of legal U.S. residency.
He said constituents have complained to him that groups of illegal aliens who cash winning lottery tickets at convenience stores make it more difficult to pay for gas or snacks.
"I've seen it when I go in there to pay for gas," he said.
Altman said he noticed the problem recently at an area grocery store where there was a 20-deep line of illegal aliens cashing winning lottery tickets at the service counter.
"South Carolina is now part of the Mexican food chain," he said.
Altman was a guest on the Fox News primetime talk show"Hannity & Colmes" on Dec. 22, when he discussed his bill that would allow South Carolina to lock up illegal aliens.
Altman's legislation would create a felony trespass law, punishable by up to five years in prison, that authorizes the state to seize vehicles, property and assets of illegal aliens.
This is stupid to me. The lottery is designed to generate money for the state. On average, the illegals are losing money. If you dont like the illegals then why would you want to stop them? They are generating more money for the state. This could help offset some of the costs associated with them being here in the first place.
Sorry folks, but I live in NC, Mexico's most recent colony. Right or wrong, folks are just tired of it all and may or may not be making rational decisions. I have to support the guy. NC just proposed the same thing. We don't hate Mexicans, but good grief! There seems to be more of them than us down here. Just come legal, that's all.
I live in Texas, I know how you feel. The school next to my apartment is over 80% hispanic. I dont have a problem with hispanics (i wouldnt live where I do if i did). BUT, most of these children are illegal or their parents are. Most of the signs in my neighborhood are in spanish. I can see how people are fed up but I think the texas lottery would go out of business if it werent for mexicans (legal or not). I rarely see a person of another race buy a ticket.
hello, i agree with anniep2.i go to our local flea market,and it's flooded with them mexicans, selling anything you can think of.the one's that are buying, always has bought a goat or two.when you go in a grocery store,their buggies are full, they get someone in line to let them get in front, that makes me madder than heck.but what can i do,i can't fight all of them,so i have to be patience with them,they come to America to have a better life,so their children will have a better life to.just come legally.
who would want to live in mexico, i sure don't,the el presidente in mexico
don't care if the people leave.i wish there was some way to stop them all,but this is the land of opportunities,land of the free and home of the Brave...... GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!!!P.S. GAS PRICES STINK!!!
As I wrote when this issue was raised on another forum, I don't see how this can be enforced. To me it isn't an issue at all, because if someone is an illegal alien, he'll simply get somebody in his family to claim the prize. Very few people come here from other countries without having some family ties or friends he or she can stay with while establishing residence and looking for work. If suddenly all the illegals in Florida stopped buying tickets, I think there would be a very large drop in the jackpot amounts. (By the way, not all Latinos are from Mexico.) Living in Southwest Florida, it's been hard for me to look in the paper and see a job requirement that reads "must be bilingual." Immigrants from Italy or Russia never asked us to learn Italian or Russian. Now English is being taught as a "second" language. That's really my only gripe, since most of my Mexican neighbors are good family people who work hard and mind their own business.
this is really a crock............what is supposed to happen when legal guest to this country legally buy lottery tickets? are they supposed to forfeit their winnings because they aren't citizens.
That's the first thing I thought of also. The part where the legislator wants to ban all non-US citizens from claiming a prize is not good. He would be better to just say that illegal aliens can't claim prizes.
This is a very difficult subject. It is true that we need to find as many ways as possible to discourage illegal aliens, by making life difficult for them here. The easier it is for an illegal alien to live here, the more will want to come. It may sound un-humane to sympathetic people, but the fact is that they are lawbreakers, no matter what their reason for coming is.
On the other hand, the fact is that by buying lottery tickets, they are contributing directly to state programs, and are putting the money they earned illegally back into the system, rather than sending it back to Mexico. So for that reason, there is a very good case to be made that they should be allowed to play and win.
I think in the end it is a matter of principles. As a country, we need to decide if our morals or our desire for increased profits is the highest priority.
My vote is that our morals should take precidence, even if it means the lottery generates less revenue.
The problem I have with this is the same I have with the RICO laws and other confiscation laws. It starts off as "just illegal aliens" but if the state manages to deny a big jackpot winner just once a year year, that's a tremendous winfall for the state and the temptation will be to see what other category of person they can deny winnings to to keep profits high. Ex-felons, the state doesn't even allow them to vote, why should they be allowed to win the lottery? Et cetera. The RICO laws started out as a way of confiscating possessions from organized crime guys but soon the government was taking sailboats because they found a joint on it. If you get into the game of "Why should an illegal alien be allowed to win the lottery?" you are playing a dangerous game.
States are also shooting themselves in the foot with this. I'm sure illegal aliens, like many financially desperate real Americans, buy a disproportionate amount of lottery tickets because they feel trapped and need money. I'm sure many also work cash only jobs and pay little or nothing in taxes. The lottery is probably the only way for the state to capture some of this unpaid tax money from them. If it works out the way they want it to, illegals will stop spending and losing $10 a week on the lottery and now have 10 more dollars a week to send to mom in Brazil. He'll save $10, mom will get $10 more and the state will lose $10. Since very few players win big jackpots or even win back what they spend, the state is doing a service by discouraging players who can least afford it from playing. The main loser will be the state. Let's see if they stand on principle if sales decrease.
Do you mean buying a lottery ticket is the same as someone taking what they want after breaking into a store?
>If someone breaks into your store you don't say, "well, he got in, so he might as well take some stuff."
Unfortunately, the US has a rule that a baby born in the US to an illegal immigrant is a US citizen, and thus the baby's parents are also entitled to stay here and go on the dole and get free healthcare, welfare, schooling, etc. With a Republican president, Republican senate and Republican house, they could have passed a law changing this law if they wished just like they did the bankruptcy law. They haven't, so we must conclude the administration does not wish to change the law. So the present system must benefit somebody. I will not think the govt. is serious about the "illegal immigrant problem" unless they change it. Preventing illegal immigrants from winning the lottery is a drop in the bucket compared to this.
I heard S.C. may try to prevent illegal aliens from buying lottery tickets by requiring a I.D. check. Most stores don't card customers buying beer and cigarettes and they won't waste time carding customers for a lottery ticket? I've heard of legal citizens who sell drugs buying winning lottery tickets to laundry their drug money, so illegal aliens will be able to redeem their lottery tickets. I don't see such a law being of much value except for making a political statement.
Personally, I have no problem with illegal aliens buying tickets. Such a law would be unenforcable for winnings under $600.
This is stupid to me. The lottery is designed to generate money for the state. On average, the illegals are losing money. If you dont like the illegals then why would you want to stop them? They are generating more money for the state. This could help offset some of the costs associated with them being here in the first place.
I wonder how he knew the 20-deep line cashing winning lottery tickets at the service counter was made up of illegal aliens.
Sorry folks, but I live in NC, Mexico's most recent colony. Right or wrong, folks are just tired of it all and may or may not be making rational decisions. I have to support the guy. NC just proposed the same thing. We don't hate Mexicans, but good grief! There seems to be more of them than us down here. Just come legal, that's all.
I live in Texas, I know how you feel. The school next to my apartment is over 80% hispanic. I dont have a problem with hispanics (i wouldnt live where I do if i did). BUT, most of these children are illegal or their parents are. Most of the signs in my neighborhood are in spanish. I can see how people are fed up but I think the texas lottery would go out of business if it werent for mexicans (legal or not). I rarely see a person of another race buy a ticket.
hello, i agree with anniep2.i go to our local flea market,and it's flooded with them mexicans, selling anything you can think of.the one's that are buying, always has bought a goat or two.when you go in a grocery store,their buggies are full, they get someone in line to let them get in front, that makes me madder than heck.but what can i do,i can't fight all of them,so i have to be patience with them,they come to America to have a better life,so their children will have a better life to.just come legally.
who would want to live in mexico, i sure don't,the el presidente in mexico
don't care if the people leave.i wish there was some way to stop them all,but this is the land of opportunities,land of the free and home of the Brave...... GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!!!P.S. GAS PRICES STINK!!!
As I wrote when this issue was raised on another forum, I don't see how this can be enforced. To me it isn't an issue at all, because if someone is an illegal alien, he'll simply get somebody in his family to claim the prize. Very few people come here from other countries without having some family ties or friends he or she can stay with while establishing residence and looking for work. If suddenly all the illegals in Florida stopped buying tickets, I think there would be a very large drop in the jackpot amounts. (By the way, not all Latinos are from Mexico.) Living in Southwest Florida, it's been hard for me to look in the paper and see a job requirement that reads "must be bilingual." Immigrants from Italy or Russia never asked us to learn Italian or Russian. Now English is being taught as a "second" language. That's really my only gripe, since most of my Mexican neighbors are good family people who work hard and mind their own business.
this is really a crock............what is supposed to happen when legal guest to this country legally buy lottery tickets? are they supposed to forfeit their winnings because they aren't citizens.
DetroitJazzMan,
That's the first thing I thought of also. The part where the legislator wants to ban all non-US citizens from claiming a prize is not good. He would be better to just say that illegal aliens can't claim prizes.
This is a very difficult subject. It is true that we need to find as many ways as possible to discourage illegal aliens, by making life difficult for them here. The easier it is for an illegal alien to live here, the more will want to come. It may sound un-humane to sympathetic people, but the fact is that they are lawbreakers, no matter what their reason for coming is.
On the other hand, the fact is that by buying lottery tickets, they are contributing directly to state programs, and are putting the money they earned illegally back into the system, rather than sending it back to Mexico. So for that reason, there is a very good case to be made that they should be allowed to play and win.
I think in the end it is a matter of principles. As a country, we need to decide if our morals or our desire for increased profits is the highest priority.
My vote is that our morals should take precidence, even if it means the lottery generates less revenue.
The problem I have with this is the same I have with the RICO laws and other confiscation laws. It starts off as "just illegal aliens" but if the state manages to deny a big jackpot winner just once a year year, that's a tremendous winfall for the state and the temptation will be to see what other category of person they can deny winnings to to keep profits high. Ex-felons, the state doesn't even allow them to vote, why should they be allowed to win the lottery? Et cetera. The RICO laws started out as a way of confiscating possessions from organized crime guys but soon the government was taking sailboats because they found a joint on it. If you get into the game of "Why should an illegal alien be allowed to win the lottery?" you are playing a dangerous game.
States are also shooting themselves in the foot with this. I'm sure illegal aliens, like many financially desperate real Americans, buy a disproportionate amount of lottery tickets because they feel trapped and need money. I'm sure many also work cash only jobs and pay little or nothing in taxes. The lottery is probably the only way for the state to capture some of this unpaid tax money from them. If it works out the way they want it to, illegals will stop spending and losing $10 a week on the lottery and now have 10 more dollars a week to send to mom in Brazil. He'll save $10, mom will get $10 more and the state will lose $10. Since very few players win big jackpots or even win back what they spend, the state is doing a service by discouraging players who can least afford it from playing. The main loser will be the state. Let's see if they stand on principle if sales decrease.
They shouldn't be here in the first place.
If someone breaks into your store you don't say, "well, he got in, so he might as well take some stuff."
Do you mean buying a lottery ticket is the same as someone taking what they want after breaking into a store?
>If someone breaks into your store you don't say, "well, he got in, so he might as well take some stuff."
Unfortunately, the US has a rule that a baby born in the US to an illegal immigrant is a US citizen, and thus the baby's parents are also entitled to stay here and go on the dole and get free healthcare, welfare, schooling, etc. With a Republican president, Republican senate and Republican house, they could have passed a law changing this law if they wished just like they did the bankruptcy law. They haven't, so we must conclude the administration does not wish to change the law. So the present system must benefit somebody. I will not think the govt. is serious about the "illegal immigrant problem" unless they change it. Preventing illegal immigrants from winning the lottery is a drop in the bucket compared to this.
http://www.americanpatrol.com/ANCHORBABIES/AnchorBabiesAllanWall.html
I heard S.C. may try to prevent illegal aliens from buying lottery tickets by requiring a I.D. check. Most stores don't card customers buying beer and cigarettes and they won't waste time carding customers for a lottery ticket? I've heard of legal citizens who sell drugs buying winning lottery tickets to laundry their drug money, so illegal aliens will be able to redeem their lottery tickets. I don't see such a law being of much value except for making a political statement.
I would be the same as somebody breaking into your store and then buying things.