"And let us not forget the Social Security system. Recent studies show that undocumented workers sustain the Social Security system with a subsidy as much as $7 billion a year. Let me repeat that: $7 billion a year"
About this Quote
The repetition is the tell. “Let me repeat that” is less about clarity than about control: he anticipates disbelief and forces the listener to sit with the number. It’s a classic legislative-floor move, built for soundbites and cable news chyrons. “$7 billion a year” becomes an anchor point, something an audience can repeat at a dinner table or in a town hall, a counter-meme to “they’re taking our benefits.”
The subtext is sharper than the policy claim. Social Security is funded by payroll taxes, and many undocumented workers pay in using mismatched or borrowed Social Security numbers, yet cannot legally collect benefits. Gutierrez is pointing to a structural asymmetry: the system gladly takes their money while the law denies them the payoff. “Subsidy” is a loaded word here, usually reserved for government giveaways; he uses it to suggest the real subsidy runs upward, from vulnerable workers to the citizenry.
Context matters: mid-2000s to 2010s immigration battles, when “self-sufficiency” became a litmus test for belonging. Gutierrez counters with a blunt claim of net fiscal value, arguing that enforcement-only politics is not just cruel, but economically incoherent.
Quote Details
| Topic | Human Rights |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Gutierrez, Luis. (2026, January 15). And let us not forget the Social Security system. Recent studies show that undocumented workers sustain the Social Security system with a subsidy as much as $7 billion a year. Let me repeat that: $7 billion a year. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-let-us-not-forget-the-social-security-system-150774/
Chicago Style
Gutierrez, Luis. "And let us not forget the Social Security system. Recent studies show that undocumented workers sustain the Social Security system with a subsidy as much as $7 billion a year. Let me repeat that: $7 billion a year." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-let-us-not-forget-the-social-security-system-150774/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"And let us not forget the Social Security system. Recent studies show that undocumented workers sustain the Social Security system with a subsidy as much as $7 billion a year. Let me repeat that: $7 billion a year." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-let-us-not-forget-the-social-security-system-150774/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
