Welfare Reform that Really Works #8

MISS LIBERTY DOESN'T KNOW THEM

On a 12-acre island in Upper New York Bay stands The Statue of Liberty, the symbolic colossus of hope to almost a century of immigrants:

"...Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me..."

And they came. They came to a country where they could work hard and build dreams. America became a country of working immigrants, often entire families struggling together with others in their community so all could be successful.

Slightly less than a century later, however, the face of immigration has changed drastically. According to Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, many now come with the express purpose of dependency, not dreams. What caused the marked difference--the flawed American welfare system that generates immigrant dependency, just as it generates dependency among our own citizens.

Now we are engaged in the Great Welfare Reform Debate. The issue of extending state benefits to legal immigrants who are now denied federal benefits, is centered around that legislation which is "politically correct" instead of the inquiry if subsidizing legal immigrants is a core function of government.

In Washington state, this translates to "it's 'unfair' to distinguish between the deserving and the undeserving poor; citizenship status has no bearing." The additional--and quite critical--element with legal immigrants is that they entered this country because a sponsor swore to be financially responsible for them. Where have all the sponsors gone?

On March 1, 1994, Dr. Norman Matloff, professor of computer science in the University of California system, told the House Ways and Means Committee that both foreign and U. S. sources give immigrants advice on how to apply for welfare benefits. For example, Zai Merguo Sheng Huo Xu Zhi ("What You Need to Know About Life in America"), a publication sold in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and in Chinese bookstores in the U. S., includes a 36-page guide to SSI and other welfare benefits.

Prepared by Karen Woods, Research Analyst
(360) 956-3452

In 1995, 785,410 lawful non-citizen residents were receiving aid from the Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) program. This was up from 127,900 in 1982--a 613 percent increase in 13 years. The majority of non-citizen SSI recipients are elderly. The fastest growing population of welfare recipients has been elderly non-citizens. Most apply for welfare within five years of arriving in the United States.

With the exception of refugees and political asylees, past U. S. immigration policy has always welcomed those who were skilled and came with the intent of being self-sufficient. New immigration policy makes America a world-wide nursing home, financed by the American taxpayer. Not coincidentally, the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) in Washington state has made a huge push to increase naturalization among state immigrants. After all, benefits then come from the FEDERAL coffers, not state's. Has it escaped DSHS that the same taxpayer is paying that bill?

Beware! Without welfare reform and assuming the current caseload growth, that bill will be huge. By 2006, the cost of SSI and Medicaid for legal immigrants alone will have gone from $12+ billion to almost $64 billion! This is fiscal reality, and it's costly.

"In its latest budget, the White House seeks to restore $14.6 billion in Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid payments for legal immigrants and their children through 2002..." (Investor's Business Daily, February 12, 1997)

Washington state intends to substitute state funds for federal funds denied to legal immigrants. Computing that cost is difficult because until federal welfare reform was passed, citizenship status was not an issue for assistance. Now that it is, Governor Locke has made "provisions." His budget calls for $67.5 million to replace federal SSI benefits and $66 million to replace federal food stamps to legal immigrants. The supplemental budget calls for $200,000 in state funds to pay for the naturalization costs of legal immigrants who want to become citizens and General Assistance-Unemployable costs of $474,000.

Both House and Senate welfare reform legislation heartily endorses strict enforcement of child support judgments. It's good for the child, and it's fiscal relief for the state. Why do Washingtonians not expect the same responsible behavior of the sponsors who committed themselves financially to a friend or family member immigrating to the US?

According to Robert Rector, national welfare authority, most non-citizens on SSI lawfully admitted to the U.S. have relatives capable of supporting them. To bring a relative to the U. S. in the first place, the sponsor must have demonstrated capacity to support that relative. Most sponsors do, in fact, support their immigrant relatives for at least three years after their arrival. When SSI benefits for non-citizens are terminated, in most cases, the family support which sustained the immigrant immediately after arrival in the U.S. simply will be resumed.

Miss Liberty welcomes those needing a place to build a future. But notice, while her torch is held high, lighting the way, her arms are NOT open wide. Miss Liberty's government is a last resort, a final safety net after all other resources--sponsor, family, friends, faith-based organizations--have been exhausted. Her provision should never be waiting for anyone just stepping ashore.

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org