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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
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Congressional Research Service (CRS)

Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Assistance: Policy Overview and Trends

Ruth Ellen Wasem, Specialist in Immigration Policy

December 14, 2010

http://opencrs.com/document/RL33809/2010-12-14/download/1005/

[full-text, 28 pages]

Summary

The extent to which residents of the United States who are not U.S. citizens should be eligible for

federally funded public aid has been a contentious issue for more than a decade. This issue meets

at the intersection of two major policy areas: immigration policy and welfare policy. The

eligibility of noncitizens for public assistance programs is based on a complex set of rules that are

determined largely by the type of noncitizen in question and the nature of services being offered.

Over the past 15 years, Congress has enacted significant changes in U.S. immigration policy and

welfare policy. Congress has exercised oversight of revisions made by the 1996 welfare reform

law (the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, P.L. 104-193)—

including the rules governing noncitizen eligibility for public assistance that it established—and

legislation covering programs with major restrictions on noncitizens’ eligibility (e.g., food

stamps/SNAP, Medicaid).

This report deals with the four major federal means-tested benefit programs: the Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), the Supplemental Security Income

(SSI) program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant programs, and

Medicaid. Laws in place for the past 15 years restrict the eligibility of legal permanent residents

(LPRs), refugees, asylees, and other noncitizens for most means-tested public aid. Noncitizens’

eligibility for major federal means-tested benefits largely depends on their immigration status;

whether they arrived (or were on a program’s rolls) before August 22, 1996, the enactment date of

P.L. 104-193; and how long they have lived and worked in the United States.

LPRs with a substantial work history or military connection are eligible for the full range of

programs, as are asylees, refugees, and other humanitarian cases (for at least five to seven years

after entry). Other LPRs must meet additional eligibility requirements. For SNAP, they generally

must have been legally resident for five years or be children. For SSI benefits, they must have

been recipients as of August 22, 1996, or resident as of that date and disabled. Under TANF and

SSI, they generally are ineligible for five years after entry and then eligible at state option. States

have the option of providing Medicaid to pregnant LPRs and children within the five-year bar.

Unauthorized aliens (often referred to as illegal aliens) are not eligible for most federal benefits,

regardless of whether they are means tested, with notable exceptions for emergency services.

TANF, SSI, food stamp, and Medicaid recipiency among noncitizens decreased over the 1995-

2005 period, but appears to have inched upwards in 2009. While the 10-year decrease was

affected by the statutory changes, the poverty rate of noncitizens has also diminished over the

1995-2005 decade. The poverty rate for noncitizens residing in the United States fell from 27.8%

in 1995 to 20.4% in 2005. It has risen to 25.1% in 2009. Noncitizens are disproportionately

poorer than native-born residents of the United States.

This report does not track legislation and is updated as policy changes warrant.

Contents

Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1

Overview of Alien Eligibility Law...............................................................................................1

Pre-1996 Program Policies ....................................................................................................1

The 1996 Welfare Reform Law .............................................................................................2

Post-1996 Revisions..............................................................................................................2

Current Eligibility Policy ......................................................................................................4

Related Immigrant Policies Affecting Eligibility: Sponsorship and Deeming ...............................5

“Public Charge” ....................................................................................................................5

Historical Development...................................................................................................5

1996 Immigration Law Reforms......................................................................................5

“Deeming” of Income and Resources ....................................................................................6

Pre-1996 Policy ..............................................................................................................6

Post-1996 Requirements .................................................................................................7

Trends in Noncitizen Poverty and Benefit Use.............................................................................8

Noncitizen Poverty Levels ....................................................................................................8

General Trends................................................................................................................8

Comparative Analysis ...................................................................................................10

Noncitizen Benefit Use ....................................................................................................... 11

Formative Research ...................................................................................................... 11

Recent Findings ............................................................................................................12

Program Participation Data .................................................................................................14

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) .............................................................................15

Food Stamps/SNAP ......................................................................................................15

Cash Assistance ............................................................................................................16

Federal and State Benefit Eligibility Standards for Unauthorized Aliens ....................................16

Federal Benefits ..................................................................................................................16

State Benefits ......................................................................................................................18

Figures

Figure 1. Noncitizen Residents in Poverty, 1994-2009.................................................................9

Figure 2. Comparative Poverty Levels by Citizenship, 1995 and 2009.......................................10

Figure 3. Percentage of Noncitizens Receiving Selected Assistance of Benefits: 1995,

1998, 2005, and 2009.............................................................................................................12

Figure 4. Percentage Distribution of Recipients by Citizenship Status: 1995 and 2009 ..............13

Figure 5. Noncitizens as a Percentage of all Food Stamp/SNAP, SSI, and TANF/AFDC

Cash Assistance, 1989-2009...................................................................................................15

Tables

Table 1. Poverty by Citizenship Status, 1995 and 2009 ................................................................9

Appendixes

Appendix A. Noncitizen Eligibility for Selected Major Federal Programs..................................19

Appendix B. Estimated Benefit Usage, by Citizenship, for Selected Years .................................22

Appendix C. “Qualified Aliens” ................................................................................................23

Contacts

Author Contact Information ......................................................................................................24

________________________________________________________________________

This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

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Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
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