Totalization With Mexico Could "Total" Social Security

By Mike Minton
April 18, 2005

Recently, I received a letter from Edward I. Nelson, the Chairman of United States Border Control, regarding a proposed “Totalization Treaty/Agreement” with Mexico. This is not a subject with which I am unfamiliar, as I wrote an article about it while I was a reporter for Talon News/GOPUSA.com. (click here to view)

Totalization agreements were begun to help employees sent abroad to still have enough credits to draw Social Security benefits with the contributions paid in total in the countries in which the employee worked. Most such agreements -- the United States has 20 -- are with European countries.

In his letter, Mr. Nelson explains that past Totalization Agreements have had little impact on U.S. taxpayers because they involved only a few thousand workers who were sent abroad by their employers, and that the reciprocating countries also sent a reasonably equal number of workers to work, and pay taxes, in the United States.

However, with the State Department and the Social Security Administration having now signed onto the idea of Totalization with Mexico, it has become an issue that could devastate the American Social Security system, and therefore, an issue which needs to be brought to the attention of EVERY AMERICAN! As I view it, this literally has the potential to bankrupt our retirement system.

Should the President sign this treaty, it would instantly make millions of Mexicans, both legal AND ILLEGAL, eligible for S.S. benefits. Naturally, this comes at a time when the President (of whom, in most matters, I am a strong supporter) is going around the country trying to convince Americans that the Social Security system is in crisis…and with that, I agree!

The Social Security Administration would have us believe that illegal workers would not qualify under a Totalization Agreement with Mexico. However, according to azcentral.com, an Inspector General's report says that the SSA "doesn't consider the work-authorization status of the individual when they earned the wages. It only considers whether the individual can prove he or she paid Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) taxes as part of this work." And, even IF the claim that Illegal workers were not eligible were true, the writing on the wall is that a general amnesty is on the horizon, which would immediately make ALL illegals (and their dependants) eligible

Further complicating this issue is the fact that once a beneficiary of this Treaty returns to Mexico, his/her spouse and dependants also become eligible for U.S. Social Security benefits. Can you imagine the cost to the S.S. system? According to the Center for Immigration Studies, (http://www.cis.org), in 2000, there were an estimated 9,177,000 Mexicans in the United States (4,808,000 are here illegally), compared to a TOTAL of 3,831,000 foreigners from ALL other countries with whom the United States has Totalization agreements; nearly 2.5 times as many!

Add to all this mess what many see as an all-but-certain push for a blanket amnesty for all illegals, and the impact on the S.S. system will be disastrous should a Totalization agreement with Mexico be authorized. There would be so little reciprocation from the Mexican side of such an agreement that it may as well not even exist. The reason I say this is that, according to the CIS website, the SSA estimates that there are only “3,000 current American workers and their employers (that) would benefit from a Totalization program.”

A program such as this will only further encourage illegal immigration to the United States. You see, it takes 40 YEARS to qualify for Mexico’s retirement system - and even then you are only entitled to receive back the amount that you have paid into the system. Kind of makes America sound like the promised land, doesn’t it?

And, since it would relieve the Mexican government from having to use its resources take care of its own citizens, the Mexican government would inevitably even further encourage its citizens to illegally migrate to the U.S. That is a no-brainer. I mean, as it is, they already publish manuals advising their citizens how to safely break into the U.S. without detection.

Now, here is the kicker. Even I was surprised to learn that all that needs to happen for a Totalization Agreement to pass is that the President sign it - that’s it. It DOES NOT need to be passed in Congress. However, there is hope! If, within 60 days of the president’s signature, Congress repeals the treaty, it is then nullified. This is where you, the American public, DESPARATELY need to get involved.

As Mr. Nelson’s letter points out, on Jan. 4 of this year, Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), “introduced H. Res. 20, a bill to disapprove the Totalization Treaty between the U.S. and Mexico.”

Included in the letter I got from the US Border Control were three post cards. The first of these was to President Bush. It reads as follows:

“Dear President Bush,

I am shocked and quite disturbed that you are allowing the Totalization Treaty between the United States and Mexico to go forward even as you warn the nation that our Social Security Trust Fund is in financial trouble.

Your strong support for AgJobs, Guest Workers and all the other thinly disguised amnesty programs for millions of illegal aliens, along with your support for Totalization, make it appear that you are more concerned about the health and welfare of Mexicans than the American people.

Please prove me wrong by expressing your opposition to the Totalization Treaty and to all forms of amnesty for illegal aliens. Thank you.

Sincerely,
(Your name here)”

A similar letter, from you, may be mailed to:

President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20500

The second postcard is to Rep. J.D. Hayworth, and it reads as follows:

“Dear Rep. Hayworth,

Please accept my thanks for introducing H. Res. 20, the resolution of disapproval of the Totalization Treaty between the U.S. and Mexico. It is outrageous that this Administration would attempt to advance such a treaty at a time when our Social Security system is already in financial trouble.

Please know that there are millions of Americans who are on your side and counting on you to do everything in your power to move this bill through Congress. I have already written to my own Representative and to the President, expressing my outrage over this latest act of pandering to Mexico and to the millions of Mexicans here illegally.

Sincerely,
(Your name here)”

A similar letter from you may be mailed to:

The Honorable J.D. Hayworth
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515-1101

The third postcard I received was one for my personal member of the House of Representatives. You can find the name and address of yours (if you don’t already know it) at: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

The card reads as follows:

“Dear Representative xxxxxxxxx:

As one of your constituents, I urge you to vote for H. Res. 20, the resolution of disapproval of the Social Security Treaty (Totalization) between the United States and Mexico.

To allow such a treaty to go forward, knowing it will bleed billions of dollars from our Trust Fund and put millions of Americans at risk, is criminal.

It is time for Congressmen to get off the fence. You either represent your American citizen constituents or you intend to sell them out as you pander after illegal alien votes. Your actions today will show the voters in your District where you stand - for Americans or for illegal aliens.

Sincerely,
(Your Name Here)”

PLEASE feel free to cut and paste these letters and then mail them to the appropriate people. The Gunner would consider it a personal favor, as I am concerned that the S.S. trust fund be there for my kids (and yours!).

Again, you can find YOUR Representative’s contact info at the following URL:

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of not allowing this Totalization Agreement to be passed. Totalization is EXACTLY the right word in this situation!