President Clinton Proposes to Restore Benefits to Vulnerable Groups of Legal Immigrants

The President believes that legal immigrants should have the same opportunity, and bear the same responsibility, as other members of society. Upon signing the 1996 welfare law, he pledged to work toward reversing the harsh, unnecessary cuts in benefits to legal immigrants that had nothing-to do with moving people from welfare to work. As part of last year's Balanced Budget Act (BBA), the President worked with Congress to restore Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to hundreds of thousands of disabled and elderly legal immigrants. In the 1999 budget the President proposes to restore Food Stamp benefits to vulnerable groups of legal immigrants and to provide States the option to provide health assistance to immigrant children.

FOOD STAMP BENEFITS

The 1999 budget proposes to restore Food Stamp benefits for vulnerable groups of legal immigrants. The President's proposals would provide Food Stamp benefits to an additional 730,000 legal immigrants in 1999 at a cost of $2.5 billion over 5 years. Specifically, benefits would be restored for:

• Families with children. This provision restores eligibility to families with children without regard to the immigrant's date of entry into the U.S. It will assist hundreds of thousands of families with citizen children and legal immigrant parents who are now depending upon only a partial Food Stamp benefit for the citizen children. Restoration of benefits to families with children will ensure that children receive the nutrition they need to become healthy, productive members of our society.
• Immigrants with disabilities and elderly immigrants age 65 and older. This provision parallels the action taken in the BBA for SSI and Medicaid. Consequently it applies to those who entered before welfare reform was enacted. Immigrants who have already come to the U.S. should not be penalized when they have played by the rules,
• Refugees and Asylees. The current law exemption for refugees, asylees, and those whose deportation has been withheld would be extended from 5 to 7 years. The Nation admits refugees and asylees for humanitarian reasons and many need more time to naturalize than the current exemption provides. This provision parallels the action taken in the BBA for SSI and Medicaid.
• Hmong immigrants from Laos who came to the U.S. after the Vietnam War. This provision recognizes the unique history and special needs of this group.

Certain Native Americans living along the Canadian and Mexican Borders. This provision also parallels a similar provision for SSI and Medicaid in the BBA that corrects an oversight in the welfare reform law.

The Administration's proposal would first require immigrants to seek assistance from those who sponsored the immigrant into the country. Recent immigrants whose sponsors signed the new legally binding affidavits of support would be ineligible for Food Stamps unless the sponsor became destitute. When support is unavailable from an immigrant's sponsor, the Nation should provide a safety net for vulnerable groups of immigrants who are legal, permanent residents of our country.

HEALTH COVERAGE

The 1999 budget also proposes to provide States the option to provide health care coverage through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for legal immigrant children. This provision gives States the option to provide health coverage through Medicaid and CHIP to legal immigrant children regardless of when they entered the country. States currently have the option to cover legal immigrant children who entered the country the 1996 Welfare law was enacted. The 1999 budget extends this option to allow states to cover immigrant children who entered the country after the 1996 welfare law was enacted.

For this purpose, the budget provides an additional $230 million over five years in Medicaid. State spending would be matched at Medicaid matching rates, The budget would also allow states to cover immigrant children through their current CHIP allotment. To give States flexibility, States can chose to cover immigrant children through either Medicaid or CHIP, or through both programs.

This policy provides access to needed medical care for low-income, legal immigrant children who become seriously ill or who have an accident. This policy would also provide access to preventative health care services for a very vulnerable population. The President's proposal does not undermine the central goal of welfare reform -- which is to move adults from welfare to work -- but, would instead allow immigrant children to get the best possible start In life.