APPENDIX J. WELFARE BENEFITS FOR NONCITIZENS CONTENTS Introduction Immigration and Naturalization Policy and Trends Legal Immigration Naturalization Illegal Aliens Current Foreign-Born Residents Noncitizens' Eligibility for Benefits Prior to 1996 The ``Public Charge'' Provision and Development of Eligibility Standards State and Local Law Before 1996 1996-98 Legislative Revisions Alien Eligibility for Federal Assistance Program Bars Permanent Bar State Option Other Programs Expanded Sponsor-to-Alien Deeming and Affidavits of Support Eligibility Standards for Illegal Aliens Noncitizens' Use of Federal Assistance Programs Analysis of Program Participation Data Analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) Data Verification of Status and Reporting Requirements Verification Requirements Reporting Requirements References INTRODUCTION The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193) changed almost every aspect of alien eligibility for Federal, State and local government assistance programs. It established comprehensive new restrictions on the eligibility of legal aliens for means- tested public assistance, and also further restricted public benefits for illegal aliens and nonimmigrants (aliens temporarily here to visit, attend school, or work). Subsequently in the 104th Congress, provisions of the new welfare law were amended, supplemented, and further tightened up by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, enacted as division C of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997 (Public Law 104-208). The 1996 changes made in the alien eligibility rules proved controversial, particularly the termination of benefits for recipients who were receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as of the date the new welfare law was enacted (August 22, 1996). The termination date for SSI for these recipients was extended from August 22 to September 30, 1997 by Public Law 105-18, signed June 12, 1997. More extensive modifications to the new alienage rules were included in Public Law 105-33, the 1997 Balanced Budget Act (BBA) signed into law on August 5, 1997. The BBA amended the welfare law to provide that legal immigrants who were receiving SSI as of August 22, 1996, will continue to be eligible, regardless of whether their claim was based on disability or age. In addition, qualified aliens who were here by August 22, 1996, and subsequently become disabled will be eligible for SSI. Congress also expanded food stamp eligibility in Public Law 105-185, the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, to include those legal immigrants who were here by August 22, 1996, who were 65 years old or older, who were disabled or subsequently became disabled, or who were under 18 years old. This appendix begins with a brief discussion of U.S. immigration policy and trends, including naturalization requirements and statistics. A summary of alien eligibility requirements under prior law and a review of the current alien eligibility law follow. An analysis of noncitizen use of Federal benefits over the past few years reveals usage changes since the enactment of the 1996 alien eligibility rules. Provisions relating to verification of status and reporting requirements and concerns about illegal aliens and benefits conclude the appendix. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION POLICY AND TRENDS Legal Immigration Three major traditions underlie U.S. policy on legal immigration: the reunification of families, the admission of immigrants with needed skills, and the protection of refugees. These traditions are implemented through the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the basic law regulating the admission of immigrants allowed to reside in the United States permanently. While most foreign nationals, such as tourists, foreign students, international business people, or temporary workers, who enter the United States are coming temporarily, over 600,000 aliens become legal permanent residents each year. As chart J-1 shows, the annual number of immigrants to the United States rose gradually after World War II. Chart J-2 illustrates that, although the percent of the population that is foreign born is not as large as during earlier periods, the sheer number--26 million in 1998--is at the highest point in U.S. history. The growth in immigration after 1980 is partly attributable to the fact that the total number of admissions under the basic system, consisting of immigrants entering through a preference system as well as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, was augmented considerably by legalized aliens and refugees. These latter two categories together accounted for 35 percent of total immigration dur- CHART J-1. NUMBER OF LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENTS ADMITTED TO THE UNITED STATES AND NUMBER OF ALIENS LEGALIZED UNDER THE IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT BY MOST RECENT YEAR OF ENTRY Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. CHART J-2. FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES, 1870-1998 Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the March 1999 Supplement of the Current Population Survey, Hansen and Bachu (1994), U.S. Census Bureau (1995), and Bogue (1985). ing the period 1980-95. The number of refugees admitted increased from 718,000 in the period 1966-80 to 1.6 million during the period 1981-95, after enactment of the Refugee Act of 1980 (Vialet, 1997). In addition, the Immigration Act of 1990 increased the ceiling on employment-based preference immigration, with the provision that unused employment visas would be made available the following year for family preference immigration. Naturalization Another tradition of immigration policy is to allow immigrants an opportunity to integrate fully into society. Under U.S. immigration law, all legal permanent resident aliens are potential citizens. To naturalize, aliens must have continuously resided in the United States for 5 years as permanent residents (3 years in the case of spouses of U.S. citizens), show that they have good moral character, demonstrate the ability to read, write, speak, and understand English, and pass an examination on U.S. Government and history. Applicants pay a fee now set at $225 when they file their materials and have the option of taking a standardized civics test or of having the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) examiner test them on civics as part of their interview. The language requirement is waived for those who are at least 50 years old and have lived in the United States at least 20 years or who are at least 55 years old and have lived in the United States at least 15 years. Special consideration on the civics requirement is given to aliens who are over 65 years old and have lived in the United States for at least 20 years. Both the language and civics requirements are waived for those who are unable to comply due to physical or developmental disabilities or mental impairment. Certain requirements are waived for those who served in the U.S. military. The number of immigrants petitioning to naturalize has surged in recent years, jumping from just over half a million applicants in fiscal year 1994 to more than 1 million in fiscal year 1995 (table J-1). There were an unprecedented 1.6 million petitions in fiscal year 1997, but the number fell to 720,468 petitions in fiscal year 1999. The INS estimates that about 6 million permanent resident aliens are eligible to apply for naturalization. Estimates of the proportion of immigrants who ultimately become citizens vary by the methods in which the data are collected but traditionally have ranged from 30 to 40 percent (Wasem, 1995). There are several factors that may account for the increase, as well as the leveling off in 1998-99, in naturalization petitions, most notably the fact that the 2.8 million aliens who legalized through the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 became eligible to naturalize, thus creating a one-time-only surge in the number of people seeking to naturalize. In addition to the Immigration Reform and Control Act legalized population, there has been a steady rise over the past 2 decades in the overall number of legal immigrants to the United States. Indeed, immigration during the 15-year period 1981-95 was almost twice that of the previous 15 years. This increased level of immigration, in turn, has increased the pool of people eligible to naturalize (Vialet, 1997). TABLE J-1.--NATURALIZATION CASELOAD, 1990-99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Petitions Petitions Petitions Fiscal year filed approved denied ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1990........................................................... 233,843 270,101 6,516 1991............................................................ 206,668 308,058 6,268 1992............................................................ 342,269 240,252 19,293 1993............................................................ 522,298 314,681 39,931 1994............................................................ 558,139 417,847 42,574 1995............................................................ 1,012,538 500,892 49,117 1996............................................................ 1,347,474 1,148,574 244,001 1997............................................................ 1,571,797 582,478 130,676 1998............................................................ 794,749 473,152 137,395 1999............................................................ 720,468 872,485 380,202 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note.--As of September 30, 1999, a total of 1,359,135 cases were pending. Source: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Statistics Division. Illegal Aliens Illegal aliens are those noncitizens who either enter the United States surreptitiously; i.e., enter without inspection by INS, or overstay the term of their nonimmigrant visas (tourist or student visas). According to the most recently available INS data, the estimated resident illegal alien population was 5 million as of October 1996 (U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1997). Those entering without inspection made up 59 percent (2.9 million) of the total, while visa overstays made up the remaining 41 percent (2.1 million). The annual growth in the resident illegal alien population was estimated at 275,000. Seven States accounted for 83 percent of the illegal population, led by California at 40 percent. The other States, in order, were Texas (14 percent), New York (11 percent), Florida (7 percent), Illinois (6 percent), New Jersey (3 percent), and Arizona (2 percent). Mexico dominated the sending countries at 54 percent, followed by El Salvador (7 percent), Guatemala (3 percent), Canada (2.4 percent) and Haiti (2.1 percent). Current Foreign-Born Residents Currently, the most comprehensive source of information on the foreign born is the U.S. Census Bureau's March Current Population Survey (CPS). The Census Bureau conducts the CPS each month to collect labor force data about the civilian noninstitutionalized population. The March Supplement of the CPS gathers additional data about income, education, household characteristics, and geographic mobility. Because the CPS is a sample of the U.S. population, the results are necessarily estimates. While the data distinguish between the foreign born who have naturalized and those who have not, it does not distinguish between types of noncitizens (e.g., permanent, temporary, illegal). The 1999 CPS found that about 10 percent of U.S. residents were foreign born (6.1 percent noncitizens and 3.6 percent naturalized citizens; chart J-3). There were 26.4 million foreign-born persons living in the United States, of which 37 percent or 9.9 million had become naturalized citizens. This total foreign-born population was up from 24.6 million persons in 1996, and the number of naturalized persons had increased from 7.9 million in 1996. CHART J-3. CITIZENSHIP STATUS OF U.S. RESIDENTS, 1998 Source: Congressional Research Service analysis of March Supplement of Current Population Survey, 1999. Based on self-reported data contained in the 1996 and 1998 CPS, the number of foreign-born persons naturalized increased 23 percent over this period, in comparison to only a 7 percent increase in the number of foreign-born persons and a 1.8 percent increase in the U.S. population. The rate of naturalization increases proportionately with the length of residence. Of persons arriving since 1990, 9.2 percent have naturalized. This rate increases to 32.4 percent for those who arrived during the 1980s, and 55.2 percent among those who arrived during the 1970s (Teran & Wasem, 1999). Region of origin Estimates from the latest CPS indicate that of the total noncitizen population, the largest percentage (58.8 percent) arrived from Latin America, which includes Mexico and Central America, South America, and the Caribbean region. The second largest group of noncitizens immigrated from Asia (20.8 percent). Those immigrants who naturalized likewise came in a similar rank order from those regions of the world, but the proportions are not as sharply skewed toward Latin America and Asia (chart J-4). CHART J-4. PERCENTAGE OF FOREIGN BORN BY WORLD REGION OF ORIGIN, 1998 Source: Congressional Research Service analysis of March 1999 Supplement of Current Population Survey. Region and State of residence The western part of the United States is home to the largest proportion (41.5 percent) of noncitizens (table J-2). Just over a quarter (26.6 percent) of noncitizens live in the South, and just under a quarter (22.2 percent) live in the Northeast. About 10 percent of noncitizens reside in the Midwest. By State of residence, almost one-third (31.9 percent) of all noncitizens live in the State of California. The State with the next largest portion of noncitizens is New York (12.5 percent). Texas is home to about 10 percent, and Florida the home of 7.9 percent of all noncitizens. The only other States with noteworthy shares of noncitizens are New Jersey and Illinois. Poverty levels Citizens--whether native born or naturalized--differ sharply from noncitizens in terms of poverty levels. As chart J-5 illustrates, more than half of noncitizens sampled in the CPS were below 200 percent of the poverty level in 1998 and 22 percent were below 100 percent of the poverty level. By contrast, only about 29 percent of native and naturalized citizens are below 200 percent of the poverty level, and only 12 percent of natives and 11 percent of naturalized citizens are below 100 percent of the poverty level. There are a variety of factors that contribute to this variation, not the least of which are education levels and length of time in the United States. TABLE J-2.--PERCENTAGE OF ALL NATIVE AND FOREIGN-BORN RESIDENTS LIVING IN SIX STATES AND FOUR REGIONS, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citizen status ----------------------------------- State/region Native Naturalized Noncitizens ------------------------------------------------------------------------ State: California..................... 10.3 27.6 31.9 New York........................ 6.1 14.9 12.5 Texas........................... 7.2 6.8 10.0 Florida......................... 5.0 10.6 7.9 New Jersey...................... 2.8 4.7 4.2 Illinois........................ 4.6 4.6 4.1 Region: Northeast....................... 18.6 26.8 22.2 Midwest......................... 24.7 11.2 9.8 South........................... 35.8 26.3 26.6 West............................ 20.9 35.9 41.5 Total population (millions)... 244.6 9.9 16.6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Source: Congressional Research Service analysis of the 1999 Current Population Survey March Supplement. CHART J-5. POVERTY LEVELS BY CITIZENSHIP STATUS, 1998 Source: Congressional Research Service analysis of March 1996 and 1999 Supplement of Current Population Survey. NONCITIZENS' ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS PRIOR TO 1996 Except for the general prohibition on aliens becoming public charges, to be discussed below, prior to 1996 there was no uniform rule governing which categories of noncitizens were eligible for benefits, and no single statute where the rules were described. Alien eligibility requirements, if any, were set forth in the laws and regulations governing the individual Federal assistance programs. Summarizing briefly, lawful permanent residents (i.e., immigrants) and other noncitizens who were legally present on a permanent basis (e.g., refugees) were generally eligible for Federal benefits on the same basis as citizens. With the single exception of emergency Medicaid, illegal aliens were barred from participation in all the major Federal assistance programs that had statutory provisions for noncitizens, as were tourists and most other aliens here legally in a temporary status (nonimmigrants). However, many income, health, education, nutrition, and social service programs did not include specific provisions regarding alien eligibility; even illegal aliens were potential participants. These programs included, for example, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), child nutrition programs, earned income credits, migrant health centers, and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). The ``Public Charge'' Provision and Development of Eligibility Standards Opposition to the entry of foreign paupers and aliens ``likely at any time to become a public charge''--language found in the INA today--dates from colonial times. The colony of Massachusetts enacted legislation in 1645 prohibiting the entry of paupers, and in 1700 excluding the infirm unless security was given against their becoming public charges. New York adopted a similar practice. A bar against the admission of ``any person unable to take care of himself or herself without becoming a public charge'' was included in the act of August 3, 1882, the first general Federal immigration law. Preceding the 1996 legislation, applicants for immigrant status could meet the public charge requirement based on their own funds, prearranged or prospective employment, or an affidavit of support. Affidavits of support were submitted by one or more residents of the United States in order to provide assurance that the applicant for entry would be supported in this country. Starting in the 1930s and continuing until the 1980s, affidavits of support were administratively required by INS but had no specific basis in statute or regulation. Court decisions beginning in the 1950s generally held that affidavits of support were not legally binding on the U.S. resident sponsors (Department of Mental Hygiene v. Renal, 6 N.Y. 2d 791 (1959); State v. Binder, 356 Mich. 73 (1959)). The unenforceability of affidavits of support led to the adoption of legislation in the late 1970s and early 1980s intended to make them more effective. Despite immigration policy explicitly designed to exclude potential public charges, Federal assistance laws for specific programs contained no eligibility restrictions based on immigration status until the early 1970s. In the absence of Federal law, State governments enacted restrictions, usually durational residency requirements, on the eligibility of legal aliens for assistance under State or joint Federal-State programs. However, in the landmark 1971 decision Graham v. Richardson (403 U.S. 365), the U.S. Supreme Court declared these State restrictions to be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court found that they violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment and that they encroached upon the exclusive Federal power to regulate immigration. Beginning with the new SSI Program in 1972, Federal statutory and regulatory alien eligibility criteria were established for the major Federal assistance programs. In addition to meeting the financial need and family structure criteria applicable to U.S. citizens, noncitizens were required either to be lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or otherwise ``permanently residing in the United States under color of law'' in order to be eligible for SSI, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Medicaid, or food stamps. These criteria were adopted with the intent of barring participation by temporary nonimmigrants and particularly by illegal aliens. In response to concerns about the unenforceability of affidavits of support and the perceived abuse of the welfare system by some newly arrived immigrants, legislation was enacted in the early 1980s limiting the availability of SSI, AFDC, and food stamps to sponsored immigrants. The authorizing legislation for the three programs was amended to provide that, for the purpose of determining financial eligibility, immigrants who had used an affidavit of support to meet the public charge requirement would be deemed to have some portion of their immigration sponsors' income and resources available to them. The sponsor-to-alien deeming period was set at 3 years for the three programs. To help finance legislation providing extended unemployment benefits, this period was temporarily increased from 3 years to 5 years for SSI, effective January 1, 1994-October 1, 1996. For those immigrants still covered under the pre-1996 rules, the duration of SSI deeming has reverted to 3 years. The 1996 welfare and immigration reform laws significantly expanded the use of sponsor-to-alien deeming as a means of restricting the participation of new immigrants in Federal means-tested programs. It also established new, legally enforceable responsibilities for sponsors who pledge support through affidavits of support. Both deeming and the affidavits of support upon which deeming is based are intended to implement the provision of the INA that excludes aliens who appear ``likely at any time to become a public charge.'' State and Local Law Before 1996 In 1971, the Supreme Court held in Graham v. Richardson that the equal protection clause and the exclusive authority of Congress to regulate immigration barred States from distinguishing between citizens and legal aliens in providing State-funded or joint Federal-State benefits. More recently, the Supreme Court has recognized that States do have some authority to enact laws that adversely affect illegal aliens, at least where these laws mirror Federal immigration policy. However, this authority is circumscribed. In 1982, the Supreme Court held in Plyler v. Doe (457 U.S. 202) that States could not deny illegal alien children a free public education, in part because of the absence of Federal guidance on the issue. State regulation of alien access to State and local assistance programs continued to be governed by the Graham and Plyler decisions. For example, several State supreme courts cited Graham to overturn State laws that imposed sponsor-to- alien deeming under State cash assistance programs. In a later example, a U.S. district court judge overturned large parts of California's proposition 187, a ballot initiative that denied illegal aliens education and other State-provided services (League of United Latin American Citizens v. Wilson, 908 F. Supp. 755 (C.D. Cal. 1995)). Though the judge ruled that the State did have leeway to deny illegal aliens many services (not including elementary and secondary education), she also held that the State could not make its own determinations of the legality of individuals' immigration status nor impose its own alienage standards on services funded at least in part with Federal funds. Because Graham left little leeway for State regulation of legal permanent residents, the States were required to provide needy permanent residents with the same assistance they provided needy citizens. This practice also was true under joint Federal-State programs, such as AFDC and Medicaid, which were governed by broad Federal alien eligibility rules even though the Federal Government funded only a portion of assistance. Broad alien eligibility rules set by Congress also indirectly triggered entitlement to significant State SSI supplements. Also, States could not differentiate between legal aliens and citizens under State-funded General Assistance (GA) Programs. According to an October 1996 report by the Urban Institute, cash or in-kind assistance was provided to the needy under GA Programs in all or part of 41 States (Uccello et al., 1996). Exercising their broader authority with regard to illegal aliens, the GA laws of 36 States limited eligibility to citizens and legal residents. Though many States had thus attempted to limit expenditures for illegal aliens, some of the largest State outlays for illegal aliens--elementary and secondary education, for example--remained beyond State control. 1996-98 Legislative Revisions In the 1996 welfare reform law (Public Law 104-193), Congress drew a sharp distinction between citizens and noncitizens in determining eligibility for welfare programs. Congress also concluded that the primary responsibility for assisting needy immigrants should be borne by the immigrants' sponsors rather than the government. To their authors, the new restrictions were a logical extension of the policies historically embodied by the public charge provision. Thus, most noncitizens were made ineligible for federally financed welfare benefits, effective during the summer and fall of 1997. Only a few categories of legal immigrants were left eligible (see below). Public Law 105-33, BBA 1997, modified the 1996 legislation's policy of restricting alien eligibility for Federal benefits; however, these modifications were limited in scope. Only two programs, SSI, which provides cash assistance for needy persons who are aged, blind, or disabled, and, to a lesser degree, Medicaid, were substantially affected by the changes to noncitizens' benefits in the BBA. Similarly, Congress expanded food stamp provisions in Public Law 105-185, the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to include legal immigrants who were here by August 22, 1996, and who were 65 years old or older, who were disabled or subsequently became disabled, or who were under 18 years old. Generally, only noncitizens here before August 22, 1996, the enactment date of the 1996 welfare law, were affected by the 1997-98 modifications (except for new entries who benefit from a 2-year extension of refugee eligibility). The basic policy laid out by the 1996 welfare law remains essentially unchanged for noncitizens entering after its enactment. ALIEN ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE As revised in 1997 and 1998, the 1996 welfare law and, to a lesser extent, the 1996 immigration law, restricted alien eligibility for Federal benefits in three basic ways: 1. They barred access to programs conditioned on alien status; 2. They required legally binding affidavits of support from immigrants' sponsors; and 3. They required that sponsors' income be deemed available to immigrants in determining eligibility for most means- tested programs. Program Bars Until 1996, aliens who were lawful permanent residents or who were otherwise legally present on a permanent basis (e.g., refugees) were generally eligible for Federal benefits on the same basis as citizens. The 1996 welfare law, however, added new rules barring ``qualified aliens'' from participation in Federal assistance programs. Qualified aliens include aliens admitted for legal permanent residence (also known as immigrants), refugees, aliens paroled into the United States for at least 1 year, and aliens granted asylum or related relief. The 1996 immigration law added certain abused spouses and children as another class of qualified aliens, and BBA 1997 added Cuban/Haitian entrants (the terms ``qualified alien'' and ``legal immigrant'' are used interchangeably in this appendix.) The laws made several exceptions to their eligibility changes, so that the restrictions discussed below do not apply to qualified aliens who are veterans or certain active duty personnel and their spouses and dependent unmarried children; or those who meet a 10-year work requirement. In order to satisfy the work requirement, the immigrant must meet a 40 qualifying quarters test. As defined by the 1996 welfare reform law, a qualifying quarter is a 3-month work period with sufficient income to qualify as a Social Security quarter and, with respect to periods beginning after 1996, during which the worker did not receive Federal means-tested assistance. Work performed by the alien, the alien's parent while the alien was under age 18, and the alien's spouse (provided the alien remains married to the spouse or the spouse is deceased) all may be counted as qualifying quarters. The rules barring legal immigrants from benefits fall into three general categories, summarized below. It should be noted that none of these rules apply to aliens once they become naturalized citizens. The effect of these rules as they apply to SSI, food stamps, Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and SSBG is summarized in table J-3, together with the change from the law prior to 1996. TABLE J-3.--ALIEN ELIGIBILITY FOR SELECTED FEDERAL PROGRAMS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TANF (formerly Supplemental AFDC) and Title XX Alien category Security Income Food stamps Medicaid Social Services Block Grant ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Immigrants: \1\ Eligibility under prior law Yes, with Yes, with Yes.............. Yes, with deeming deeming.\2\. deeming.\2\. for AFDC.\2\ Eligibility under current law. a) Here before 8/22/96 Yes, if on rolls 8/ Yes, if here by 8/ Yes, for SSI- State option with (Public Law 104-193 22/96 or disabled 22/96 and if 65 derivative Federal money. enactment). subsequently. or older at that benefits or time, disabled or emergency subsequently services. disabled, or Otherwise, State under 18 at that option. time. b) New entrants--1st 5 No................ No................ Emergency only... Not with Federal years after arrival. money; States may use State funding c) New--after 5 years.. No................ No............... Yes, for emergency State option with services. Federal money and Otherwise, State deeming. option, with deeming. Refugees and asylees: \3\ Eligibility under prior law Yes............... Yes.............. Yes............... Yes. Eligibility under current Yes............... Yes.............. Yes............... Yes. law--1st 7 years after entry or grant of asylum. Nonimmigrants \4\ and undocumented aliens \5\ Eligibility under prior law No................ No............... Emergency only.... SSBG only. Eligibility under current No................ No................ Emergency only... No. law. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ ``Immigrants.'' Also known as permanent residents and green card holders. May live here indefinitely unless they commit a deportable act. Parolees admitted temporarily for at least l year under the Attorney General's immigration parole power may receive the same benefits. \2\ ``Deeming'' refers to the attribution of the sponsor's income to the immigrant in determining financial eligibility, and is applied to SSI, food stamps, and AFDC (replaced by TANF) for 3 years after entry (5 years for SSI as of January 1, 1996). \3\ ``Refugees and asylees.'' Status is based on individualized persecution abroad, and they adjust to legal permanent residents after 1 year and are treated as other ``qualified aliens'' after 7 years. This category also includes Cuban/Haitian entrants and Amerasians. \4\ ``Nonimmigrants.'' Admitted temporarily for a limited purpose. Includes, e.g., students, visitors, and temporary workers. \5\ Also known as illegal aliens. Includes aliens here in violation of immigration law for whom no legal relief or recognition has been extended. Note.--Hmong immigrants and certain Native Americans living along the Mexican and Canadian borders have special access to programs, according to program statutes. Source: Congressional Research Service. Permanent Bar Congress imposed a permanent bar to access by legal immigrants who entered the United States after August 22, 1996, to two federally financed programs. These programs are SSI, which provides cash aid for needy persons who are aged, blind, or disabled; and food stamps, which provides certain low-income households with monthly benefits to enable them to afford more adequate diets. State Option The second set of restrictions generally applies to three major Federal/State grant programs: Medicaid, TANF, and SSBG. Medicaid provides medical assistance for low-income persons who are aged, blind, or disabled, or members of needy families with dependent children. TANF is a block grant program established by the 1996 reform law. TANF provides Federal funds to States for temporary cash and other assistance for needy families. SSBG is also a State block grant program, providing Federal funds to States for social services aimed at preventing dependency and remedying problems associated with it. States may permit or prohibit participation by legal immigrants who entered the United States before enactment of the welfare law (August 22, 1996) from Medicaid, TANF, and SSBG. Legal immigrants entering the United States after August 22, 1996, are barred for 5 years from all benefits under these programs except emergency medical assistance. Legal immigrants ineligible for TANF, however, may receive State-funded benefits if they meet other program requirements in over half of the States. After 5 years, the decision as to whether legal immigrants may participate in Medicaid, TANF, and SSBG rests with the States, subject to a rule deeming sponsors' income and resources to be available to the immigrant, as discussed below. Several States, including California, offer a full array of public assistance to legal immigrants not eligible for federally financed benefits. The 5-year bar discussed previously does not apply to refugees and asylees, nor does the State option to restrict Medicaid benefits apply to them in the same manner that it does to immigrants. Refugees and asylees who meet the other program criteria are eligible for full Medicaid benefits for 7 years after entering as refugees or being granted asylum; they are eligible for TANF and SSBG benefits for 5 years. After these respective periods of time, refugees and asylees are subject to the same State option provision that applies to legal immigrants. State options also are available under food stamp law. As of June 2000, 13 States were exercising their option under the terms of Public Law 105-18 to pay for the provision of food stamp benefits to some or all noncitizens who are ineligible (California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin). More than 100,000 persons were receiving food stamps through this option in mid-2000, at a total estimated cost of between $5 and $6 million a month. The overwhelming majority (above 80 percent) of these recipients were in California. In earlier years (before the November 1998 liberalization of noncitizen eligibility rules for federally financed food stamps), the number of those assisted under this State option approached 200,000 persons at a monthly cost of over $10 million. Of the 13 States exercising their choice to provide food stamp benefits to legal immigrants, all but 5 (Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio) have chosen to fund food stamps for all legal immigrants ineligible for federally financed benefits. Illinois limits its help to parents of eligible children and 60 to 64-year-olds who entered by August 22, 1996. Maryland covers children under 18 entering after August 22, 1996. New Jersey limits its aid to parents of eligible children, the elderly (65 or older) arriving after August 22, 1996, and unemployable recipients of GA. New York pays for benefits to the elderly (60-67 years old) living in the same county since August 22, 1996. Ohio covers only a few SSI recipients who resided in the State as of August 22, 1996, and is phasing out its program. Finally, States have the option to grant or deny any child nutrition benefits (e.g., Summer Feeding Programs, meals in day care programs, WIC; but not school meals), commodity supplemental and emergency food benefits, and commodity benefits for Indians on reservations based on alien status. Other Programs Most qualified aliens arriving after August 22, 1996, are barred from most other Federal means-tested programs for 5 years after their arrival. Their participation after that time is subject to sponsor-to-alien deeming, as it is for Medicaid, TANF, and SSBG. However, a number of programs are exempt from both the 5-year bar and sponsor-to-alien deeming (table J-4). These include: 1. Treatment under Medicaid for emergency medical conditions (other than those related to an organ transplant); 2. Short-term, in-kind emergency disaster relief; 3. Assistance under the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act; 4. Immunizations against diseases and testing for and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases; 5. Foster care and adoption assistance under title IV of the Social Security Act, unless the foster parent or adoptive parent is an alien other than a qualified alien; 6. Education assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, specified titles of the Higher Education Act of 1965, or specified titles of the Public Health Service Act; 7. Benefits under the Head Start Act; 8. Benefits under the Job Training Partnership Act; and 9. Services or assistance (such as soup kitchens, crisis counseling and intervention, and short-term shelters) designated by the Attorney General as: delivering in- kind services at the community level; providing assistance without individual determinations of each recipient's needs; and being necessary for the protection of life and safety. Emergency services, school meals, and community-level services are available for all aliens; other nutrition programs may be provided to any alien at State option. The Attorney General published a list defining noncash community-level services exempt from the various prohibitions (Federal Register, 1996). Among other services, it includes senior nutrition programs, such as Meals on Wheels. Expanded Sponsor-to-Alien Deeming and Affidavits of Support The other two restrictions on alien access to public benefits included in the 1996 welfare and immigration laws are legally binding affidavits of support and sponsor-to-alien deeming rules. Both are expansions of previously existing law and practice, and both have their roots in the public charge provision of immigration law, which has been a feature of U.S. immigration law since 1882. Affidavits of support The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) was amended in 1996 by the addition of a new section 213A, which provides a statutory basis for affidavits of support and greatly extends their scope, as compared with pre-1996 law: 1. It makes them legally binding documents effective either until the sponsored immigrant naturalizes or meets the 40-quarter work requirement; 2. It requires affidavits of all family-based immigrants and employment-based immigrants coming to work for relatives; 3. It requires sponsors to have an income of at least 125 percent of the Federal poverty level and to agree to support the sponsored immigrant with resources that would equal at least 125 percent of the poverty level; and 4. It provides that both government agencies and sponsored immigrants can sue sponsors for failure to meet their obligations. Expanded deeming rules A significant difference from previous law is that all the sponsor's income and resources and that of the sponsor's spouse is deemed to be available to the immigrant in determining financial eligibility. Coupled with the fact that government agencies providing benefits to sponsored immigrants are legally entitled to sue the sponsors, the clear intent of the new deeming provisions is to all but bar immigrants from participation in means-tested programs. The sponsor, rather than the Federal Government, is expected to be financially responsible for immigrants who need assistance. The sponsor-to-alien deeming rules have also been expanded in terms of duration and the number of programs and immigrants covered. 1. Deeming remains in effect until the immigrant naturalizes or meets the 40-quarter work requirement; 2. Deeming rules apply to all Federal means-tested programs except those expressly exempted by law (and to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and food stamps, from which immigrants are barred). The excepted programs are the same as those exempted from the 5-year bar (table J-4); 3. Deeming applies to all sponsored immigrants, a group expanded by the immigration law's requirement that all family-based immigrants have affidavits of support. TABLE J-4.--ALIEN ELIGIBILITY PROVISIONS FOR SELECTED FEDERAL BENEFITS UNDER CURRENT WELFARE AND IMMIGRATION LAWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Provisions Qualified aliens regardless of entry date Qualified aliens entering after 8/22/96 Nonqualified aliens -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Restricted programs. Food stamps, unless age 65 or older by 8/ For 5 years after entry, Federal means- Most Federal public benefits (with 22/96, subsequently disabled, or under tested public benefits (with exceptions exceptions noted below). age 18; SSI, unless on rolls by 8/22/96 noted below). or here then and later disabled. Thereafter, the restrictions in the left At State option: \1\ Temporary Assistance column apply. for Needy Families, Social Services Block Grant, and Medicaid (other than emergency services and SSI-related). Programs excepted from ``Qualified aliens'' here before 8/22/96 Emergency medical services, disaster Emergency medical services, disaster restrictions. not barred by alienage status from relief, public health assistance, relief, public health assistance, programs other than those listed above. community level services, school lunch, community services, housing assistance child nutrition, foster care and received at enactment, Social Security adoption assistance, Head Start, certain and Medicare benefits for lawful aliens, job training, elementary, secondary, and and school lunch and breakfast. Other higher education, and Public Health child nutrition and food distribution Service Act education assistance. programs at State option. (Does not change law regarding public education.) Individuals excepted Refugees and asylees--7 years for SSI, Refugees and asylees (as in left column); Nonimmigrants only for contracts or from restrictions Medicaid, and food stamps and 5 years for immigrants with 40 Social Security work licenses related to their authorized other programs; immigrants with 40 Social quarters (including quarters worked by employment, and for benefits under Security work quarters (including spouse/parent); \2\ and alien veterans, reciprocal treaty agreements. quarters worked by a spouse/parent); \2\ certain active duty personnel, and and alien veterans, certain active duty families. personnel, and families. Modification of New deeming rules only applicable to After 5-year bar, for Federal means- Not applicable. sponsor-to-alien qualified aliens entering after 8/22/96 tested programs until alien naturalizes deeming and with affidavits complying with new or has 40 Social Security work quarters INA requirements--see next column. (including quarters worked by a spouse/ parent); \2\ with exceptions similar to 5-year bar. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ State option begins 5 years after entry for qualified aliens entering after August 22, 1996. \2\ For quarters worked after 1996, no quarter during which the alien received public assistance may be counted toward the 40-quarter exception. Note.--Hmong immigrants and certain Native Americans living along the Mexican and Canadian borders have special access to programs, according to program statutes. Source: Congressional Research Service. Eligibility Standards for Illegal Aliens Federal benefits The 1996 welfare reform law denies most Federal benefits, regardless of whether they are means tested, to illegal aliens. The class of benefits denied is broad and covers grants, contracts, loans, and licenses as well as retirement, welfare, health, disability, housing, food, unemployment, postsecondary education, and similar benefits. So defined, this bar covers many programs whose enabling statutes do not individually make citizenship or immigration status a criterion for participation. Thus, programs that previously were not individually restricted--the earned income credit, SSBG, and migrant health centers, for example--became unavailable to illegal aliens, unless they fall within the act's limited exceptions. These programmatic exceptions include: 1. Treatment under Medicaid for emergency medical conditions (other than those related to an organ transplant); 2. Short-term, in-kind emergency disaster relief; 3. Immunizations against immunizable diseases and testing for and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases; 4. Services or assistance (such as soup kitchens, crisis counseling and intervention, and short-term shelters) designated by the Attorney General as: delivering in- kind services at the community level; providing assistance without individual determinations of each recipient's needs; and being necessary for the protection of life and safety (see above); and 5. To the extent that an alien was receiving assistance on the date of enactment, programs administered by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, programs under title V of the Housing Act of 1949, and assistance under section 306C of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. Subtitle E of title V of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (Public Law 104-208) later facilitated the removal of illegal aliens from housing assistance. The 1996 welfare reform law also permits illegal aliens to receive Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits under title II of the Social Security Act if the benefits are protected by that title or by a treaty or are paid under applications made before August 22, 1996. The act also states that individuals who are eligible for free public education benefits under State and local law shall remain eligible to receive school lunch and school breakfast benefits. (The act itself does not address a State's obligation to grant all aliens equal access to education under the Supreme Court's decision in Plyler v. Doe.) Beyond these nutrition benefits, the act neither prohibits nor requires a State to provide illegal aliens other benefits funded under the National School Lunch Act, the Emergency Food Assistance Act, or similar food programs. State benefits Unlike earlier Federal law, the 1996 welfare reforms expressly bar illegal aliens from most State- and locally- funded benefits. The restrictions on these benefits parallel the restrictions on Federal benefits. Illegal aliens are generally barred from State and local government contracts, licenses, grants, loans, and assistance. Exceptions also are similar to those for Federal means-tested programs. The restrictions on State and local benefits do not apply to activities that are funded in part by Federal funds; these activities are regulated under the 1996 law as Federal benefits. Furthermore, the law states that nothing in it is to be construed as addressing eligibility for basic public education. Finally, the 1996 law allows the States, through enactment of new State laws, to provide illegal aliens with State and local benefits that otherwise are restricted. Despite the federally imposed bar and the State flexibility provided by the 1996 law, States still may be required to expend a significant amount of State funds for illegal aliens. Public elementary and secondary education for illegal aliens remains compelled by judicial decision, and payment for emergency medical services for illegal aliens remains compelled by Federal law. Meanwhile, certain other costs attributable to illegal aliens, such as criminal justice costs, result from the continued presence of illegal aliens. NONCITIZENS' USE OF FEDERAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS Some of the concern with the use of public assistance by legal immigrants began in 1993 in response to a study by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The subject was the use of SSI by legal aliens entering either as lawfully admitted immigrants or ``under color of law.'' SSA found that permanent legal aliens made up more than 25 percent of aged SSI recipients. Subsequent data presented by SSA indicated a steady increase from 1982 through 1995 in the number and percentage of lawfully admitted aliens receiving SSI, and an increased percentage of total beneficiaries who were legal aliens. Significant numbers of refugees were being admitted during this period. Legal aliens entering ``under color of law,'' most of whom were refugees, accounted for 26 percent of the total number of legal alien SSI recipients in December 1995 (Ponce, 1996). In the ensuing years, the question of whether legal immigrants disproportionately relied on public assistance arose frequently, and empirical research, such as the SSA study discussed above, yielded qualified responses of ``sometimes'' and ``under certain circumstances.'' Following the substantial revisions of welfare law in 1996-98, the question of whether public assistance usage by legal immigrants has changed as a result of the new eligibility rules has come to the fore. This section draws on analysis of administrative program participation data and the CPS to explore this question. Analysis of Program Participation Data Supplemental Security Income (SSI) The percentage of the SSI caseload that is noncitizens has dipped somewhat in recent years, after rising steadily in the 1980s and early 1990s (table J-5). It stood at 10.2 percent or 669,630 participants in 1998 after peaking at 12.1 percent or 785,410 participants in 1995. In 1998, noncitizens accounted for about 27 percent of all aged SSI recipients, down from a high of 32 percent in 1995. Noncitizens accounted for 5.8 percent of disabled (or blind) recipients in 1998, down from 6.5 percent in 1995. TABLE J-5.--NUMBER OF NONCITIZENS RECEIVING SSI PAYMENTS AND NONCITIZEN RECIPIENTS AS A PERCENT OF ALL SSI RECIPIENTS BY ELIGIBILITY CATEGORY, 1982-98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Aged Blind and disabled ----------------------------------------------------------------- Percent Percent Percent December of of of Noncitizens total Noncitizens total Noncitizens total SSI SSI SSI ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1982.......................................... 127,900 3.3 91,900 5.9 36,000 1.6 1983.......................................... 151,200 3.9 106,600 7.0 44,600 1.9 1984.......................................... 181,100 4.5 127,600 8.3 53,500 2.1 1985.......................................... 210,800 5.1 146,500 9.7 64,300 2.4 1986.......................................... 244,300 5.7 165,300 11.2 79,000 2.8 1987.......................................... 282,500 6.4 188,000 12.9 94,500 3.2 1988.......................................... 320,300 7.2 213,900 14.9 106,400 3.5 1989.......................................... 370,300 8.1 245,700 17.1 124,600 4.0 1990.......................................... 435,600 9.0 282,400 19.4 153,200 4.6 1991.......................................... 519,660 10.2 329,690 22.5 189,970 5.2 1992.......................................... 601,430 10.8 372,930 25.4 228,500 5.6 1993.......................................... 683,150 11.4 416,420 28.2 266,730 5.9 1994.......................................... 738,140 11.7 440,000 30.0 298,140 6.2 1995.......................................... 785,410 12.1 459,220 31.8 326,190 6.3 1996.......................................... 724,990 11.0 417,360 29.5 307,630 5.9 1997.......................................... 650,830 10.0 367,200 27.0 283,630 5.5 1998.......................................... 669,630 10.2 364,980 27.4 304,650 5.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Social Security Administration (1999, p. 303, Table 7.E6). The largest concentration of noncitizens who received SSI benefits lived in California, 260,770 recipients in 1998. California's share of the noncitizen SSI beneficiaries (39 percent) was greater than its overall proportion of noncitizens (31.9 percent) in the United States. New York was second with 107,860 noncitizen SSI recipients. Likewise, New York's percentage of the noncitizen SSI caseload (16.1 percent) was greater than its overall proportion (12.5 percent) of the noncitizen population. Florida and Texas followed with 63,540 and 50,410 noncitizen beneficiaries respectively. Florida's proportion (9.5 percent) was somewhat higher than its share of the noncitizen population (7.9 percent), and Texas' percentage (7.5 percent) was notably less than its proportion of the noncitizen population (10.0 percent). Although noncitizens from Latin America comprised an estimated 58.8 percent of noncitizens in the United States, they accounted for only 42.4 percent of the SSI noncitizens caseload in 1998. Noncitizens from Asia were an estimated 20.8 percent of noncitizen residents, but made up 33.7 percent of noncitizens who receive SSI. Noncitizens from the former Soviet Union were an estimated 2.7 percent of of noncitizens in the United States, yet they were 12.1 percent of all noncitizens receiving SSI. These data lend weight to the view that noncitizens from refugee-sending parts of the world are more likely to rely on SSI. Table J-6 presents the country of origin for SSI recipients in 1998. TABLE J-6.--NUMBER OF NONCITIZENS RECEIVING FEDERALLY ADMINISTERED SSI PAYMENTS BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, DECEMBER 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Blind and Country of origin Total Aged disabled ------------------------------------------------------------------------ North America 3,260 900 2,360 Canada.......................... 3,250 900 2,350 Central America 153,490 83,770 69,720 Mexico.......................... 130,290 69,280 61,010 El Salvador..................... 9,830 6,570 3,260 Guatemala....................... 4,070 2,540 1,530 Other........................... 9,300 5,380 3,920 South America 24,610 15,380 9,230 Columbia........................ 6,330 3,990 2,340 Ecuador......................... 5,400 3,280 2,210 Peru............................ 4,370 3,360 1,010 Other........................... 8,510 4,750 3,760 Carribbean 106,040 53,000 53,040 Cuba............................ 49,340 26,740 22,600 Dominican Republic.............. 32,210 13,040 19,170 Haiti........................... 10,300 6,460 3,840 Other........................... 14,190 6,760 7,430 Africa 6,690 2,920 3,770 Somalia......................... 1,240 540 700 Cape Verde Island............... 1,150 740 410 Ethiopia........................ 1,030 360 670 Other........................... 3,270 1,280 1,990 Asia 225,600 124,230 101,370 Vietnam......................... 51,600 21,370 30,230 China........................... 31,600 26,600 5,000 Laos............................ 25,160 5,850 19,310 Philippines..................... 22,350 18,100 4,250 Cambodia........................ 19,860 3,250 16,610 Korea........................... 19,200 14,560 4,640 Other........................... 55,830 34,500 21,330 Middle East 13,580 7,080 6,500 Lebanon......................... 3,330 1,660 1,670 Syria........................... 2,460 1,240 1,220 Turkey.......................... 2,300 1,630 670 Other........................... 5,490 2,550 2,940 Former Soviet Republics 81,140 47,740 33,400 Europe 34,280 17,500 16,780 Portugal........................ 5,470 3,470 2,000 Italy........................... 3,620 1,920 1,700 United Kingdom.................. 3,590 1,740 1,850 Other........................... 21,600 10,370 11,230 Oceania 2,310 1,030 1,280 Unidentified 18,630 11,430 7,200 Total......................... 669,630 364,980 304,650 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Source: SSI 10-Percent Sample, December 1998. Family cash assistance The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data on characteristics of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients indicate that, as a percentage of total adult AFDC recipients, noncitizens legally in the United States who receive AFDC (now TANF) increased from 7.0 percent in fiscal year 1989 to 12.3 percent in fiscal year 1996, and then dropped to 11.0 percent in 1998 (U.S. Department, 1990, 1997, 1999). Since the AFDC/TANF recipient data are more limited than SSI recipient data, tables detailing characteristics and components of noncitizen usage are not available. Once again, California tops the list of States with high welfare participation. Fully 27 percent of its 611,799 TANF recipients were noncitizens in 1998 (table J-7). Calculated in terms of percentage of all adult noncitizens receiving TANF, Californians comprised 57 percent of adult noncitizens in the United States on TANF in 1998. New York followed California with 15.8 percent of its 321,961 recipients who were adult noncitizens or 18 percent of noncitizens in the United States on TANF. Texas and Florida were distant third and fourth places with 4 percent and 3 percent respectively of adult noncitizens in the United States on TANF. TABLE J-7.--DISTRIBUTION OF ADULT TANF RECIPIENTS BY STATE AND CITIZENSHIP STATUS, OCTOBER 1997-SEPTEMBER 1998 [In percent] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ All adult Percent of Percent of State TANF citizen noncitizen recipients recipients recipients ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alabama............................ 0.49 0.52 0.00 Alaska.............................. 0.41 0.45 0.15 Arizona............................ 1.12 1.17 0.76 Arkansas........................... 0.33 0.36 0.02 California......................... 23.25 19.24 57.07 Colorado........................... 0.62 0.70 0.03 Connecticut........................ 1.58 1.71 0.68 Delaware........................... 0.20 0.23 0.02 District of Columbia............... 0.72 0.81 0.05 Florida............................ 2.69 2.65 3.26 Georgia............................ 1.87 2.10 0.14 Guam............................... 0.09 0.08 0.13 Hawaii............................. 0.59 0.65 0.13 Idaho.............................. 0.04 0.05 0.03 Illinois........................... 5.83 6.46 1.22 Indiana............................ 1.20 1.35 0.10 Iowa............................... 0.87 0.98 0.04 Kansas............................. 0.40 0.44 0.12 Kentucky........................... 1.47 1.66 0.09 Louisiana.......................... 1.39 1.56 0.08 Maine.............................. 0.53 0.59 0.07 Maryland........................... 1.39 1.56 0.10 Massachusetts...................... 2.03 2.01 2.34 Michigan........................... 4.19 4.57 1.48 Minnesota.......................... 1.76 1.77 1.88 Mississippi........................ 0.53 0.61 0.00 Missouri........................... 1.78 2.00 0.15 Montana............................ 0.29 0.32 0.03 Nebraska........................... 0.42 0.30 0.17 Nevada............................. 0.30 0.31 0.18 New Hampshire...................... 0.19 0.21 0.04 New Jersey......................... 0.23 2.53 0.00 New Mexico......................... 0.80 0.87 0.28 New York........................... 12.24 11.44 17.58 North Carolina..................... 1.95 1.84 0.16 North Dakota....................... 0.10 0.11 0.02 Ohio............................... 4.28 4.79 0.54 Oklahoma........................... 0.66 0.74 0.04 Oregon \1\......................... 0.63 0.62 0.44 Pennsylvania....................... 4.59 5.00 1.71 Puerto Rico........................ 0.11 0.12 0.03 Rhode Island....................... 0.69 0.67 0.91 South Carolina..................... 0.65 0.74 0.03 South Dakota....................... 0.09 0.10 0.00 Tennessee.......................... 1.51 1.70 0.10 Texas.............................. 4.43 4.57 3.62 Utah............................... 0.43 0.47 0.17 Vermont............................ 0.29 0.33 0.04 Virginia........................... 1.47 1.60 0.51 Virgin Islands..................... 0.01 0.01 0.01 Washington......................... 2.81 2.79 3.25 West Virginia...................... 0.82 0.93 0.01 Wisconsin.......................... 0.52 0.59 0.00 Wyoming............................ 0.03 0.03 0.00 Total (in millions).......... 2.631 2.318 0.289 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ \1\ Oregon's percentages are imputed, not reported. Source: Congressional Research Service analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data on TANF Program participation, October 1997-September 1998. Food stamps The 10-year pattern for noncitizens receiving food stamps resembles that of SSI and AFDC/TANF. Specifically, food stamp participation by noncitizens crept upward during the early 1990s, then dropped off by 1998, at which time there were approximately 616,000 noncitizens receiving food stamps. After enactment of welfare reform in 1996, the percentage of food stamp recipients who were noncitizens fell to a 10 year low of 3.1 percent in 1998. The peak had occurred in 1996 when 1,847,000 noncitizens comprised 7.1 percent of the 25,926,000 food stamp recipients. California is the State with the largest number of noncitizens receiving food stamps, 210,000 in 1998. Its share of all noncitizens receiving food stamps was 34 percent. New York, Texas, and Florida followed with 15, 12, and 7 percent respectively of all noncitizens receiving food stamps in 1998. The food stamp quality control sample also recorded information on naturalized citizens. Based on these data, New York led with 23 percent of all food stamp recipients who are naturalized. California came in a close second at 21.7 percent, and Florida followed with 15.7 percent. Analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) Data In 1995, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) analyzed data from the March 1994 CPS (the first CPS to ask participants about their citizenship status) that indicated that, as compared with the native born, the foreign born were significantly more likely to use SSI, but were not significantly more likely to use AFDC or food stamps. In the AFDC, Food Stamp, and Medicaid Programs, noncitizens had higher participation rates than the native born, but naturalized citizens had lower participation rates than the native born. However, in the SSI Program both noncitizens and naturalized citizens had higher participation rates than native-born citizens. This finding was especially true among the aged population (O'Grady, 1995). In addition to the elderly, another major subgroup of the foreign born using welfare appears to be noncitizens from refugee-sending countries. While the 1995 CRS study did not disaggregate refugees, Urban Institute analysts did try to do so in 1996 Senate testimony. Based also on the March 1994 CPS, they found that 13.1 percent of foreign born from the major refugee-sending countries used AFDC, SSI, or general assistance (GA), compared to 5.8 percent of foreign born from other countries (Fix et al., 1996). The Urban Institute has continued to analyze the CPS for noncitizen use of welfare and found changes in usage from 1994 to 1997. Based on receipt of AFDC/TANF, SSI, and GA, the more recent Urban Institute Study (Fix & Passel, 1999) found that: 1. Use of public benefits among noncitizen households fell more sharply than among citizen households between 1994 and 1997, 34 percent versus 14 percent; 2. Those noncitizens imputed to be refugees experienced declines (33 percent) that were at least as steep as other noncitizens despite the fact that most refugees continued to be eligible for benefits in 1997; 3. Noncitizen households accounted for a disproportionately large share of the overall decline in welfare caseloads that occurred between 1994 and 1997; 4. Welfare usage among elderly immigrants and naturalized citizens did not appear to change between 1994 and 1997; and 5. Neither naturalization nor rising incomes accounted for a significant share of noncitizens' exits from public benefit use. Similarly, CPS data show a decline in Medicaid use by citizen children of noncitizen parents. Specifically, between 1995 and 1997, the number of citizen children on Medicaid fell 6 percent. Research by the Urban Institute in Los Angeles showed that the number of citizen children approved for Medicaid through TANF enrollment fell by 48 percent between January 1996 and January 1998 (Zimmerman & Fix, 1998). CRS analysis of the March 1999 CPS (for 1998) indicated that public assistance usage was down generally from 1995 to 1998. Although CPS data are self-reported and generally understate the actual number of program beneficiaries, it appears that the March 1999 Supplement's underreporting is quite pronounced when compared to the administrative program participation data analyzed above. Nonetheless, the downward trends in usage are consistent with those observed previously and are comparable to the general findings of the Urban Institute and others. One of the intriguing findings from the latest data is that the general declines in welfare use are not consistent across the programs or among the three citizenship groupings. The benefit use patterns for naturalized persons in the CPS samples, for example, offer exceptions to the general trends (table J-8). While benefit receipt decreased for noncitizens in all four selected programs, and for natives in all but SSI, the participation of naturalized citizens went up noticeably in SSI and Medicaid. The estimated percent of the cash welfare recipients (AFDC, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or GA) who were noncitizens held virtually constant between 1995 (11.9 percent) and 1998 (11.8 percent) even though the total caseload fell. A different perspective on the same data reveals that the percentage decrease in welfare use from 1995 to 1998 was virtually the same for natives as for noncitizens, 42 and 43 percent respectively (table J-7). The estimated proportion of welfare recipients who were naturalized increased from 2.3 percent in 1995 to 3.9 percent 1998, an increase of 70 percent. Estimates of SSI usage from the CPS suggest a different pattern, one in which noncitizen usage decreased from 9.9 percent in 1995 to 7.8 percent in 1998, while recipiency among the naturalized increased as a percentage of SSI recipients from 3.9 percent to 6.5 percent over the 3-year period (table J-8). SSI recipiency dropped slightly among noncitizens, rose substantially among naturalized citizens, and held constant among natives. Generally Medicaid usage was down for everyone but naturalized citizens, but it is important to note that reporting of Medicaid use in the CPS is plagued with problems. Although Medicaid usage offers little overall change in the distribution of recipients reported in the CPS, there were modest changes in each of the citizenship categories. Estimated use by naturalized citizens rose while estimated use by noncitizens declined (table J-8). Among natives, there was a decline from 1995 to 1998. CPS estimates of households receiving food stamps indicate a decline from 1995 to 1998 across all three citizenship categories (table J-8). Noncitizen households that received food stamps went from 13.7 percent to 8.5 percent, experiencing the largest decline (38 percent), but native households followed closely with a 30 percent decline from 7.6 percent in 1995 to 5.3 percent in 1998. TABLE J-8.--NATIVES, NATURALIZED AMERICANS, AND NONCITIZENS AS NUMBER OF RECIPIENTS, PERCENTAGE OF RECIPIENTS, AND PERCENTAGE OF CITIZENSHIP-STATUS GROUP RECEIVING BENEFITS FROM SELECTED WELFARE PROGRAMS, 1995 AND 1998 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Native Naturalized Noncitizen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Program Percent Percent Percent 1995 1998 change 1995 1998 change 1995 1998 change ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number on welfare (in millions): Cash...................... 4.25 2.51 -41 0.112 0.115 +03 0.583 0.350 -40 SSI....................... 4.15 4.20 +01 0.188 0.316 +68 0.475 0.380 -20 Medicaid.................. 26.81 23.62 -12 .495 0.748 +51 0.242 0.170 -30 Food stamps............... 25.12 18.46 -27 0.444 0.442 (\1\) 0.248 0.147 -41 As percentage of all recipients: Cash....................... 85.8 84.4 -2 2.3 3.9 +70 11.9 11.8 -1 SSI....................... 86.2 85.8 (\1\) 3.9 6.5 +67 9.9 7.8 -21 Medicaid.................. 90.1 90.6 +1 2.9 2.9 0 6.5 6.5 0 Food stamps............... 89.6 90.6 +1 1.6 2.2 +38 8.9 7.2 -19 Population (in 239.2 244.6 +2 7.9 9.9 +25 16.6 16.6 0 millions)............. Percentage of citizenship- status group receiving welfare: Cash....................... 2.4 1.4 -42 1.5 1.2 -20 4.0 2.3 -42 SSI....................... 2.3 2.3 0 2.5 3.3 -32 3.2 2.5 -22 Medicaid.................. 7.2 6.3 -12 6 7.5 -25 12.8 9.2 -28 Food stamps............... 7.6 5.3 -30 5.5 4.5 -18 13.7 8.5 -38 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ Less than 1 percent. Note.--Food stamp data are households; all other data are individuals. Cash welfare includes AFDC, TANF and GA. Many of the entries in the table are estimates based on small sample sizes which would produce large sampling errors. Source: Congressional Research Service analysis of Current Population Survey March Supplement, 1996 and 1999. As in the 1995 CRS study, this CRS analysis focused on three categories of citizenship status: (1) native born citizens; (2) naturalized citizens; and (3) noncitizens. The use of these citizenship categories, in contrast to the Urban Institute's groupings of citizens, immigrants, and aliens from refugee-sending countries, may account for some of the differences in results. CRS' disaggregation of SSI from the other welfare benefits of AFDC, TANF and GA may also affect the results because use of SSI by the three citizenship status categories showed divergent patterns as compared with welfare use over time. In addition to differences between CRS and the Urban Institute in the data construction, some variation in findings could result from economic and social traits of the two time periods: 1994-97 versus 1995-98. VERIFICATION OF STATUS AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS The increase in the number of programs and classes of aliens affected by the 1996 welfare reform law has necessitated an expansion of previous procedures for verifying alien eligibility for benefits. For example, the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) Program is now barred to newly arrived ``qualified aliens,'' whereas in the past it was not subject to any alienage restrictions. The concept of ``qualified aliens'' originated with the welfare law and includes noncitizens not covered by the INS database. The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program authorized by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 has been the primary means of verifying eligibility for many major Federal benefits. Under SAVE, applicants who stated that they were not citizens were required to have their status verified through a database of INS files. If this primary verification was unsuccessful, manual secondary verification by INS officials was conducted. Both Federal and State governments were critical of the time needed to complete secondary verifications. Because the SAVE data base was limited to aliens, it was also criticized as being vulnerable to circumvention by false citizenship claims. The 1996 welfare reform law and subsequent amendments in the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 (Public Law 105-33) included new verification and reporting requirements. These are supplemented by provisions in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, and by immigration enforcement legislation enacted as part of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997 (Public Law 104-208). Verification Requirements 1. The welfare reform law requires the Attorney General to adopt regulations to verify that individuals who apply for Federal public benefits are qualified aliens and eligible for assistance. As amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, the welfare reform law also requires the Attorney General to establish fair and nondiscriminatory procedures on proving citizenship when applying for a Federal public benefit. 2. States that administer a program which provides a restricted federally assisted benefit must have a verification program that complies with the above regulations within 24 months of their adoption. 3. The 1996 immigration law amended the welfare law to allow nonprofit charitable organizations to provide Federal, State, and local public benefits without having to verify the immigration status of the recipients. 4. The 1996 immigration law amended the Social Security and Higher Education Acts to require the transmittal to INS of copies of documents required to verify eligibility for Social Security and Higher Education assistance. 5. Public Law 105-33 authorized State and local governments to verify the eligibility of individuals for State and local public benefits. 6. Public Law 105-33 requires the Attorney General, within 90 days of its enactment, to issue interim verification guidance and to adopt regulations on procedures to be used by States and local governments for determining whether applicants are subject to the new federally imposed bars on State and local benefits; i.e., for verifying that alien applicants are qualified aliens, nonimmigrants, or short-term parolees. Reporting Requirements 1. The welfare law requires the following entities to provide INS at least four times annually and at INS' request the name, address, and other information they have regarding each individual whom they know is in the United States unlawfully: (1) States receiving block grants for TANF; (2) the Commissioner of Social Security; (3) States operating under agreements for the payment of SSI State supplements through the Federal Government; (4) the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and (5) public housing agencies operating under contracts for assistance under sections 6 or 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937. 2. Separately, the welfare reform law states that no State or local entity may be prohibited or in any way restricted from sending to or receiving from the INS information regarding an individual's immigration status. 3. The immigration law requires the Attorney General to notify, not later than 180 days after the end of each fiscal year, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and the Inspector General of the Department of Justice on: the number of public charge deportations; the number of sponsors determined to be indigent; and the number of reimbursement actions brought under affidavits of support. REFERENCES Federal Register. (1996, August 30). Specification of community programs necessary for protection of life or safety under welfare reform legislation, 61, p. 45985. Fix, M., & Passel, J.S. (1999). Trends in noncitizens' and citizens' use of public benefits following welfare reform, 1994-97. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. Fix, M., Passel, J.S., & Zimmerman, W. (1996, February 6). The use of SSI and other welfare programs by immigrants. Testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (Subcommittee on Immigration). Washington, DC: Urban Institute. O'Grady, M.J. (1995). Native and naturalized citizens and noncitizens: An analysis of poverty status, welfare benefits, and other factors (95-276 EPW). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Ponce, E. (1996, February). Lawfully resident aliens who receive SSI payments, December 1995. Washington, DC: Social Security Administration. Social Security Administration. (1999). Annual statistical supplement to the Social Security Bulletin, 1999. Washington, DC: Author. Teran, J.C., & Wasem, R.E. (1999). The foreign-born population: A profile (CRS Report RL 30338). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Uccello, C.E., McCallum, H.R., & Gallagher, L.J. (1996, October). State general assistance programs, 1996. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1990). Characteristics and financial circumstances of AFDC recipients, fiscal year 1989. Washington, DC: Author. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1997). Characteristics and financial circumstances of AFDC recipients, fiscal year 1996. Washington, DC: Author. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999). Characteristics and financial circumstances of TANF recipients, fiscal year 1998. Washington, DC: Author. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. (1997, January). Estimates of the unauthorized immigrant population residing in the United States, October 1996. (Backgrounder). Washington, DC: Author. Vialet, J. (1997). Immigration: Reasons for growth, 1891-95 (CRS report 87-230). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Wasem, R.E. (1995). Naturalization of immigrants: Policy, trends, and issues (CRS Report 95-298). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Zimmerman, W., & Fix, M. (1998, July). Declining immigrant applications for Medi-Cal and welfare benefits in Los Angeles County. Washington, DC: Urban Institute, Immigration Studies Program.