From the Dept. of Homeland Security Annual Flow Report  April 2012 (based on 2011 data) " Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens Some LPR admission categories are exempt from the annual numeric limits for preference and diversity immigration. The largest category numerically is immediate relatives (spouses and children, including orphans adopted abroad, of U.S. citizens and parents of adult U.S. citizens aged 21 and over) . Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens typically account for more than 40 percent of the annual LPR flow. New LPRs in the immediate relatives and family- sponsored preference categories of admission are collectively referred to as family-sponsored immigrants." . . . . Eligibility for Naturalization Most legal permanent residents who are at least 18 years of age are eligible to apply for citizenship after meeting certain requirements. These requirements generally include 5 years of lawful permanent residency in the United States or 3 years for those married to a United States citizen and successful completion of English language, civics, and history tests. Legal immigrant children under 18 years of age may automatically acquire citizenship when a parent naturalizes" There is lots of data in this (6) page report if you care to look at it.  To become citizens there is more to it than just residency - also described in the report: "Eligibility for Naturalization Most legal permanent residents who are at least 18 years of age are eligible to apply for citizenship after meeting certain requirements. These requirements generally include 5 years of lawful permanent residency in the United States or 3 years for those married to a United States citizen and successful completion of English language, civics, and history tests." Once you are a citizen, you are afforded the rights and benefits of this privilege as the law indicates. It is our government, our elected representative that have made these laws - (both parties).  We are a humane nation - all of us - It seems to me that we as all types of citizens, ALL of us, should change our way of planning for our future and not rely on the government to provide for us. You can see the data on these "parents" coming into the country and they represent but a very small portion and many of them are not taking the benefits that we have designated for the poor, so the numbers get smaller.
Posted by GailL1

In Response to Re: Us should stop to be the world free nursing home : EMPLOYERS also match this 6.2% of FIICA taxes. The SELF EMPLOYED person pay both parts on their salary. Higher income individuals who are employed by other or are self employed pay SS taxes up to the max limit and pay Medicare taxes on their whole salary. As beneficiaries of Medicare, the higher income individual also pays a higher amount for Parts B and D. Under the PPACA higher income individual will even pay more into the Medicare system. Benefits under Social Security are based on your earnings so the more you make, the more taxes you pay into the system while working, thus the better the benefit. So even if you consider Social Security a good plan, the individual needs to realize that the higher the salary, the higer their benefit.  That should be included in their plan. Social Security was never designed to be a complete retirement system, only an insurance against total poverty and as we see based on today's prices of food, energy, etc. , it is hard for a person to live completely on it.  Therefore, during working years, it is wise for all of us to make plans for those later years of life, including Social Security but also other savings and investments. We all should do more planning for the normal course of life as far as things that are within our command.  We can plan for children, we can plan for an adequate job or profession by developing skills, we can plan for getting older and not doing what we once did be that in keeping a roof over our head, food for our bodies and making arrangements for our personal care needs.  None of these things should be a surprise to us.
Posted by GailL1