Welfare

Welfare Reform And Food Stamps For Immigrants

Welfare reforms passed by Congress in 1996 included a provision to deny food stamps to legal immigrants who have not yet become U.S. citizens. Since then, 935,000 legal immigrants have been cut from the food stamp program.

  • The food stamp cuts are expected to save taxpayers $27 billion over six years -- more than half the savings under the welfare reform law.

  • Of those savings, $3.7 billion would come from denying aid to immigrants.

  • In the first year under the new law, the number of people receiving food stamps fell by nearly four million -- to about 21 million.

  • Bowing to political pressure, 13 states have restored some aid to about 235,000 immigrants -- mostly to children, the elderly and disabled.

The Clinton administration wants to restore legal immigrants to food stamp rolls. But congressional Republicans argue that restoring benefits to immigrants who are not citizens would be a major retreat on welfare reform. Noncitizens should be supported by their U.S. sponsors, they say.

Source: Richard Wolf, "Food Stamp Loss Takes Its Toll," USA Today, January 28, 1998.

U.S. Welfare Luring Elderly Immigrants

Our generous welfare system is attracting increasing numbers of the elderly from other countries who wish to retire on its benefits.

  • In 1994, nearly 738,000 noncitizen residents were receiving aid from the Supplemental Security Income program.

  • This represented a gigantic 580 percent increase -- up from 127,900 in just 12 years.

  • The overwhelming majority of noncitizen SSI recipients are elderly and most apply for welfare within five years of arriving in the U.S.

An analysis by Norman Matloff of the University of California at Davis reveals:

  • That 45 percent of elderly immigrants in California received cash welfare in 1990.

  • Among Russian immigrants the figure was 66 percent, and among Chinese, 5 percent.

  • If current trends continue, the U.S. will have more than three million noncitizens on SSI within 10 years.

  • Without reform, costs for SSI and Medicaid for elderly noncitizen immigrants will amount to more than $328 billion over the next decade -- $67 billion for the year 2004 alone.

Dramatic changes in the current welfare system and immigration policy have been proposed to reduce the influx of elderly welfare recipients. Measures suggested include restricting welfare eligibility to citizens and allowing the elderly to enter only as permanent "guests" of their U.S. sponsors.

Source: Robert Rector (Heritage Foundation), "A Retirement Home for Immigrants," Wall Street Journal, February 20, 1996.

Noncitizens on SSI

Noncitizens of the United States are one of the fastest growing groups of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients, according to recent congressional testimony from the Government Accounting Office. The SSI program provides means-tested income support payments to eligible aged, blind or disabled persons.

SSI is one of the fastest growing entitlement programs -- its costs grew 20 percent annually from 1991 through 1994. In 1994, over six million SSI recipients received nearly $22 billion in federal benefits and more than $3 billion in supplemental state benefits.

  • Noncitizens represent about one-third of aged SSI recipients and about 5.5 percent of disabled recipients.

  • About two-thirds of the noncitizens on SSI live in just three states -- California, New York and Florida.

  • In December 1995, about 785,000 noncitizens were receiving SSI benefits, accounting for about 12 percent of the total.

  • They received nearly $4 billion in federal and state SSI aid in 1995.

If they receive SSI, noncitizens are also generally eligible for Medicaid. Medicaid costs for noncitizens receiving SSI are even greater than the cost of the cash benefits.

  • In 1994, annual Medicaid benefits averaged about $2,800 for the aged SSI recipient who received them.

  • Medicaid costs were about $5,300 per blind and disabled noncitizen on SSI, excluding long-term care costs.

  • Including long-term care, Medicaid benefits averaged about $8,300 for the aged and $7,700 for the disabled.

The term noncitizens includes legal immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, and undocumented aliens legalized by the 1986 immigration reform act -- but not illegal aliens.

About 46 percent of noncitizen recipients applied for SSI within four years of entering the U.S., although some were admitted with financial sponsors who agreed to provide support to them for three years.

Source: Jane L. Ross, "Supplemental Security Income: Noncitizens Have Been a Major Source of Caseload Growth," GAS/T-HEHS-96-88, February 6, 1996, Government Accounting Office: Washington, DC.

Immigrant Benefits Focus of Welfare Reform Challenges

Activists opposing welfare reform are challenging the new law through court suits. Many will focus on cessation of benefits to legal noncitizen immigrants totaling 40 percent of the $55 billion savings over six years.

The GOP-sponsored welfare reform bill signed in August:

  • Ends food stamps and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for most adult legal noncitizen immigrants now receiving them -- a provision President Clinton wants to abandon.

  • Bars future noncitizen immigrants from getting most forms of federal aid during their first five years in this country.
  • Authorizes, but does not require, states to cut off, Medicaid and social services for noncitizens.

From 1986 to 1993, the noncitizen caseload under SSI grew on average 15 percent a year with evidence of fraud involved, according to the General Accounting Office.

Major challenges will emerge in California, which is home to a third of the nation's immigrants. In April, the state intends to begin cutting off food stamps from some 373,000 of 436,000 legal immigrants now getting them. Prominent among the groups challenging welfare reform is the American Civil Liberties Union.

However, the cuts are not as all-encompassing as some opposition rhetoric makes them appear. Legal immigrants can retain their welfare benefits by becoming citizens -- as many are already doing. And many noncitizen immigrants are exempted from the cutoffs: refugees, political asylum seekers, U.S. military veterans, victims of domestic violence, children on food stamps or SSI or immigrants employed in the U.S. for at least 10 years.

Source: Carl Horowitz, "Taking Welfare Reform to Court," Investor's Business Daily, December 9, 1996.

Welfare for Legal Immigrants

President Clinton and the nation's governors want to restore welfare benefits to legal immigrants, a step opposed by some analysts.

  • In the latest budget, the administration would restore $14.6 billion in Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid payments for legal immigrants and their children through 2002.

  • In 1995, some $27 billion in SSI funds was paid to 6.5 million people -- 15 percent or 900,000 of them legal immigrants.

  • Immigrant SSI checks now average about $425 a month.

  • Total SSI applications by legal immigrants rose from 51,500 to 162,100 from 1982 to 1993 or 215 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Opponents of restoring federal funding of immigrant benefits make their case in several ways.

  • The able-bodied here would have less incentive to work, while foreigners would have a generous benefits package to attract them to the U. S.

  • Since states have more freedom under the new welfare law -- as well as considerable funds -- they could use their own money if they chose, as well as money from other federal block grant programs.

  • States as a whole have run a surplus of at least $75 billion each year during the 1990s, and more than $90 billion in the years 1993 through 1995.

  • Many elderly immigrants are being sent here by their families specifically to obtain welfare benefits -- a practice which should not be encouraged.

Critics note that legal immigrants can retain their benefits simply by becoming U. S. citizens.

Source: Carl Horowitz, "More Benefits for Immigrants?" Investor's Business Daily, February 12, 1997.

States Thwart Immigrant Welfare Reforms

Although Congress clearly intended to rein in welfare spending on legal immigrants when it passed the welfare reform law last year, a number of states and local jurisdictions are handing immigrants cash aid, challenging the new law and helping them become citizens so they can continue to receive benefits.

  • The number of elderly and disabled legal immigrants receiving cash aid has doubled in the last six years.

  • The reform law was supposed to have trimmed welfare spending by $54 billion over six years -- with $24 billion of that coming from legal immigrants' benefit cuts.

  • Nearly 75 percent of legal immigrants live in California, New York, Florida and Texas.

  • Nationwide, some 895,225 legal immigrants receive Supplemental Security Income payments and 1,414,000 get food stamps.

Every state but Alabama is providing benefits to families with children. Most states are continuing to provide medical coverage, particularly to children, and many are delaying cuts in food stamps which were scheduled to begin in April.

President Clinton is also seeking $14.6 billion more for legal immigrants over five years. Republican governors and representatives are also considering higher aid levels.

Source: Richard Wolf, "States Taking Up Welfare Slack, USA Today, March 24, 1997.

Welfare Reform and Immigrants

The new welfare law is having an impact on noncitizens in at least two areas: the number of those who are rushing to become citizens is soaring and the proportion of Hispanics who work rose sharply late last year. Of course, not all Hispanics are immigrants and not all immigrants are Hispanic; but some analysts are convinced that the threat of a cut-off of benefits is encouraging more to enter the workforce.

  • States can bar noncitizen immigrants from cash welfare programs and Medicaid immediately under the new law.

  • Noncitizens are no longer entitled to receive food stamps or Supplemental Security Income payments from the federal government.

  • Starting this year, new immigrants will be barred from other forms of federal aid until they have been here for five years.

These new rules appear to have had an effect.

  • Last year, more than 1 million immigrants became naturalized -- double the rate of the previous year.

  • Hispanics have been entering the workforce at more that twice the average rate.

  • They accounted for 40 percent of all new hires last year -- even though they make up only one-tenth of the whole population.

Recently, however, there have been rumblings at the federal and state level of plans to restore some benefits to noncitizens. President Clinton has put forward a plan to restore $14 billion in benefits for immigrants over the next five years. Concurrent with reports of these initiatives, the proportion of Hispanics entering the workforce has dropped somewhat -- beginning early this year.

Critics of the plan argue that people respond to incentives, and that the stick of impending poverty has put more people to work than the carrot of job training and tax credits that have been tried and failed.

Source: Perspective, "Incentives Work," Investor's Business Daily, April 25, 1997.

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