people pay taxes into the UBI pool but never get anything back.
They get to live and work legally in the US and get a salary paid in US dollars. That seems to worth a lot to a lot of people. You are of course right about the very obvious two class system it will create and the long term social consequences of such a system are tricky to predict.
Edit: The US birthright citizenship rules might actually make this harder to implement.
> They get to live and work legally in the US and get a salary paid in US dollars.
If this is so good why the need for a UBI for citizens in the first place?
Because the US should want to provide a better quality of life for its citizens than what those people feeling and risking everything in a desperate attempt to get into the US have in their home countries.
The US (it’s just people) already has a higher quality of life for its citizens - that’s why people come here.
Serious question, but what's wrong with having a two class system? Wouldn't these people be better off living in the US rather than living in whatever country they are assumably leaving for economic opportunity, even if they don't have as many rights as a citizen.
There doesn't have to be something wrong with it, it's all down to the implementation details. For one, possibly extreme, example of how it could turn out badly, look at countries like Qatar and how they treat their second class workers.
However, UBI funded by taxes on bad behavior can still work but it would not act as a replacement for unemployment benefits.