Significant Legislation to Restore Benefits to Legal Immigrants Set to Be Introduced Soon

IMMIGRANTS & PUBLIC BENEFITS

E-Mail Benefits Update

SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATION TO RESTORE BENEFITS TO LEGAL IMMIGRANTS SET TO BE INTRODUCED SOON
No. 99-1, March 31, 1999

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Representative Sander Levin, and other members of Congress, will soon introduce significant legislation to restore Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to immigrants who lawfully reside in the United States. This is the most important and far reaching such proposal that has been put forward this year.

It builds on, and goes beyond, the provisions included in the Clinton Administration's FY 2000 Budget announced in January, and is likely to be the focus of debate for those who support immigrant safety net restorations during this Congress. It also complements a number of other proposals that have been advanced, or will be advanced, as part of broader legislation aimed at strengthening the safety net for all Americans. We will provide the details of these other proposals in future updates.

A summary of the Levin/Moynihan proposal is attached to the end of this alert.

If your organization supports such restorations you can help bring them closer to reality by communicating your organization's support of the Moynihan/Levin proposal by sending a fax or e-mail to NILC's Washington, DC office (hall_naani@nilc.org or fax to: 202-216-0261).

Please include the following information: Name of organization; your name, title, address, phone, and fax; and a simple statement that your organization supports the Moynihan/Levin legislation to restore safety-net assistance to lawfully present immigrants.

Summary of the Fairness for Legal Immigrants Act of 1999

CHIP and Medicaid for children and pregnant women

Current Law:

Under the 1996 welfare and immigration acts, states may not provide Medicaid or CHIP to children or pregnant women unless they are "qualified" immigrants and, in the case of immigrants who entered the U.S. after Aug. 22, 1996 (the date the welfare bill was enacted), have been in the U.S. for at least five years. The impact of these restrictions goes far beyond the actual numbers of immigrants affected because confusion and misinformation is rampant about who is eligible for assistance under current law.

Fairness for Legal Immigrants:

States would be given the option to provide Medicaid to all children and pregnant women who are lawfully residing in the U.S., regardless of when they arrived. Pregnant women would remain eligible during the first 60 days after the pregnancy. If a state elects the Medicaid option, it may also provide all lawfully present children access to its CHIP Program. Immigrant sponsors would not be required to pay back assistance provided to children or pregnant women under this section.

Medicaid for disabled immigrants

Current Law:

Even immigrants who have disabilities are ineligible for Medicaid unless they fit the definition of qualified immigrant and, in the case of immigrants who entered after Aug. 22, 1996, have been in the U.S. for at least five years.

Fairness for Legal Immigrants:

States would be given the option to provide Medicaid to lawfully residing blind or disabled immigrants, regardless of when they entered the U.S. Alternatively, states could choose a lesser option and exempt from the immigrant-related restrictions only persons who require long-term care and who were lawfully residing in the U.S. on Aug. 22, 1996.

SSI eligibility and associated Medicaid

Current Law:

The 1996 welfare and immigration acts, as amended, provide that qualified immigrants with disabilities who were lawfully residing in the U.S. on Aug. 22, 1996, can receive SSI and associated Medicaid. But no exemption from the immigrant-related restrictions extends to elderly immigrants who were lawfully residing in the U.S. on that date. As a result, to qualify for SSI, most elderly qualified immigrants must undertake the time-consuming and difficult process of proving they are disabled, no matter how old they are, and regardless of how long they have lived in the U.S.

In addition, most qualified immigrants who entered the U.S. after the welfare bill passed are ineligible for SSI, regardless of when they became disabled. Exceptions apply to veterans of the U.S. armed forces, refugees and asylees, certain Hmong and Laotian immigrants, and persons who can be credited with 40 quarters of work history. No exemption to this restriction applies, however, to persons who became disabled after arriving in the U.S. For example, an immigrant who entered the U.S. in December 1996 and subsequently was paralyzed and left destitute as the result of a bus accident has no access to SSI.

Fairness for Legal Immigrants:

Provides an exemption from the 1996 welfare and immigration act restrictions on access to SSI for two categories of immigrants: (1) qualified immigrants who are over 65 years of age and were lawfully residing in the U.S. when the welfare bill was enacted; and (2) blind or disabled qualified immigrants who entered the U.S. on or after Aug. 22, 1996, and subsequently became blind or disabled.

These categories of immigrants would be subject to the three-year "deeming" period that was in effect for the SSI program before the 1996 legislation was enacted. Under that provision, the income and resources of the immigrant's sponsor were attributed to the immigrant (with certain exceptions) for purposes of determining whether the immigrant's income was low enough to qualify for SSI.

Immigrants who qualify for SSI under this section would also qualify for Medicaid if they live in a state that otherwise provides automatic Medicaid eligibility to SSI recipients. Most states do so.

Eligibility for food stamps

Current Law:

Despite last year's partial restoration of food stamps, most qualified immigrants remain ineligible for the nation's most important anti-hunger program. Those currently exempted from the restrictions on access to food stamps include veterans, refugees and asylees, certain Hmong and Laotian immigrants, and persons who can be credited with 40 quarters of work history. In addition, qualified immigrant children, and persons with disabilities who were lawfully residing in the U.S. before the welfare bill was enacted on Aug. 22, 1996, can obtain assistance, as can qualified immigrant seniors who were lawfully present and over age 65 on that date.

Fairness for Legal Immigrants:

Restores eligibility for food stamps to all qualified immigrants who were lawfully residing in the U.S. on Aug. 22, 1996. This change would affect hundreds of thousands of immigrants who currently are barred from obtaining food stamps. The vast majority of those who would have eligibility restored are parents in families with children.

Domestic violence exemption

Current Law:

Battered immigrants who, because of domestic violence, are entitled to obtain legal status under the immigration laws are included in the definition of "qualified" immigrants, and are eligible for most federal and state public benefits. To meet the "qualified" immigrant definition, a person, or his/her children or parents, must be entitled to immigration relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) or have a petition pending for adjustment of status to permanent residence, and must demonstrate a "substantial connection" between the need for benefits and the domestic violence. But these immigrants are subject to the same restrictions on access to SSI, food stamps, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, and CHIP that apply to other qualified immigrants, and therefore, as a practical matter, often have no access to services.

Fairness for Legal Immigrants:

Immigrants who are "qualified" due to domestic violence would be eligible for all federal public benefits, including SSI, food stamps, TANF, Medicaid, and CHIP, regardless of the date of entry (although, under certain conditions, "deeming" could still limit immigrants' eligibility for these programs). Also, the "substantial connection" requirement would be amended to permit assistance if the benefits would alleviate the harm from the domestic violence or would help the immigrant avoid future domestic violence.