wfn.org | NCCCUSA on Immigration, Welfare Reform

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the 
U.S.A.
Contact: Carol Fouke, NCC News, 212-870-2252
Internet: carol_fouke.parti@ecunet.org

Immigration and Welfare Reform: Understanding the 
Consequences
Report to NCC Executive Committee
18 February 1997
By Elizabeth Ferris, Church World Service 
Immigration and Refugee Program

 Two major pieces of legislation were passed in 
1996 with enormous implications for immigrants and 
refugees. The "Illegal Immigration Reform and 
Immigrant Responsibility Act" was passed by the US 
Congress in September 1996 with consequences for 
every single immigrant living (or seeking to live) 
in the United States. The "Personal Responsibility 
Act" or `Welfare Reform' passed in April 1996 seeks 
to reduce the cost of welfare, primarily by 
eliminating most benefits to legal immigrants.  
Welfare reform has also shifted the debate to the 
state level as it is now state governments which 
decide on eligibility for benefits and the 
availability of assistance.  This has the potential 
to create a very ugly competition as few states have 
indicated they are willing to increase taxes to pay 
for benefits to immigrants -- while services to US 
citizens are being cut.

Asylum

1.  In the new immigration legislation, passed by 
the US Congress in September 1996, summary exclusion 
will be instituted, beginning on 1 April 1997.  This 
means that people who arrive at an airport or other 
port of entry with false or no documents, and who 
ask for asylum because they are fleeing religious or 
political persecution, will be given an on-the-spot 
interview by a low-level immigration officer.  The 
refugees must then immediately convince the officer 
that their fear of persecution is genuine, without 
the benefit of assistance from attorneys, 
translators, or family members.  If the immigration 
officer does not believe their story, they will be 
immediately deported.  The only chance to reverse a 
decision by an immigration officer is an 
administrative review by an immigration judge, which 
must be completed within at most seven days.  During 
this time, the refugee is held in detention, and 
will have great difficulty in receiving assistance 
in preparing a convincing case.

Example:  A Togolese woman fled her home country to 
escape forced genital mutilation -- a subject which 
the woman found very intimidating and difficult to 
talk about.  When her initial request to receive 
protection in the U.S. as a refugee is rejected by 
an immigration officer, she is placed in detention.  
Just three days later, without access to 
translators, family members, or attorneys who could 
help her present her case, she is unable to get the 
immigration judge to reverse the immigration 
officer's denial.  The woman is sent back to her 
persecutors in Togo.

2.  Under the new legislation, a one-year time limit 
will come into effect on 1 April 1997 for filing of 
political asylum claims. All refugees seeking 
protection must now overcome language and cultural 
barriers, learn about U.S. asylum law, obtain legal 
assistance, compile documentation about their case, 
and file an application for asylum within one year 
of their date of arrival in the U.S.  Refugees who 
miss the deadline will be sent back to their 
countries of origin unless they can prove 
"extraordinary circumstances" that caused the delay 
in filing, or "changed circumstances" which 
materially affect their eligibility for asylum, such 
as the outbreak of a civil war in their home 
country.

Since 1992, CWS/IRP has been providing legal 
assistance to about 5,000 Haitian asylum-seekers who 
arrived on US shores in 1992 and 1993, including 
filing asylum applications for about 1,000 Haitians.  
But there are still 1,000 cases in the backlog, 
waiting to be filed.  They now must be filed by 
September 1997.  This program costs about $380,000 
per year; a staff of six has been able to file 1,000 
applications in four years (with a high success 
rate).  This same staff of six is now working to 
file an additional 1,000 applications in the next 
six months.  We do not have funds to increase our 
capacity. 

3.  Even legitimate refugees will not be eligible 
for asylum if they could be sent to a third country 
where their life or freedom would not be threatened, 
and with which the US has a bilateral agreement.

Example:  A Jewish refugee fled Russia to escape 
religious persecution.  Upon arriving in the US, 
where he had family, he was told that he was 
ineligible for asylum since he could be sent to 
Israel.  The refugee was put on a plane to Israel, 
where he knew no one.

Welfare `Reform'

1.  As a result of welfare reform legislation, there 
is now a ban on public benefits to legal immigrants 
-- even those who have been in the country, paying 
taxes, for many years.  They are no longer eligible 
in most cases to receive food stamps, disability 
assistance, public housing, or non-emergency health 
care.

Example:  A Canadian immigrant came to the United 
States thirty years ago, after having married a US 
citizen.  Although she was eligible to become an 
American citizen, she decided to maintain her 
Canadian nationality.  After the death of her 
husband, she developed Alzheimer's disease and is 
now in a nursing home.  Because of her disability, 
she is not now eligible for US citizenship. With 
welfare reform, she will no longer receive public 
assistance to enable her to remain in the nursing 
home.  She has no close family ties in Canada and 
her US children are unable to pay for the nursing 
home.  She faces being turned out onto the streets.

2.  About 900,000 people currently receiving welfare 
assistance are now receiving letters, requiring them 
to bring documentation to prove their eligibility 
(in most cases, citizenship) to their local Social 
Security offices.  Those that cannot prove their 
eligibility (estimated to number 600,000)  will have 
their benefits suspended on 1 August 1997.  Some 
states have asked for waivers of this provision and 
indicated that they will use state funds to continue 
assisting legal immigrants.  The letters are causing 
panic in immigrant communities, particularly among 
the elderly (who may not even understand the letters 
they receive, particularly if they do not read 
English.) Agencies are reporting threats of suicide 
and self-immolation from desperate elderly 
immigrants.

Anita Bock, Director of Social Services for Dade 
County, Florida, estimates that 30,000 legal 
immigrants will be cut from welfare rolls in South 
Florida by August 1997.  She explained that elderly 
immigrants receive around $550 per month in SSI and 
$100 in food stamps.  `Many of these people will 
come to your churches in search of assistance. Do 
not raise false expectations that your church will 
be able to support them if you're not prepared to 
come up with $7000 per person every year. In South 
Florida alone, the cost of making up the cuts in 
benefits to 30,000 legal immigrants are in the 
neighborhood of $210 million.' 

3.  Although refugees are excluded from this ban for 
a five-year period, in fact many are quite 
vulnerable.  A disabled refugee who entered the 
country in 1991, for example, and who has received 
SSI for 5 years will no longer be able to receive 
this assistance.  An estimated 50,000 refugees will 
have their benefits cut off.   Moreover, 
implementation of this exemption depends on state 
welfare programs.  States that do not offer 
assistance to US citizens will not offer benefits to 
refugees -- even though they are theoretically 
exempt. Thus states such as Alabama and Alaska which 
do not provide general assistance to US citizens 
will not provide them to refugees.

Presently many of the refugees who come to the 
United States do so because they have been referred 
by officials of the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Refugees either because their lives are in 
immediate danger or because there are no other 
solutions for them.  We are increasingly hearing 
that UNHCR is reluctant to refer refugees for 
resettlement in the US because of the lack of a 
`safety net.' As one UNHCR official said to me, 
`maybe refugees are better off in refugee camps than 
in America -- at least they receive minimal food 
rations.'  

We also fear that this will give support to those 
urging that only young, healthy refugees be admitted 
to the United States -- which of course runs counter 
to our belief that refugees should not be judged by 
normal immigration criteria.  In fact, many of those 
most in need of resettlement may have health 
problems as a result of torture, extended 
imprisonment, etc. 

A Rush to Citizenship

 Legal immigrants are applying for citizenship 
in record numbers.  In 1992, less than 300,000 
naturalization applications were filed. In 1996, 
that number jumped to 1.2 million applications and 
in 1997, the Immigration and Naturalization Service 
(INS) expects to receive 1.8 million applications.  
However, the increase in applications has led to 
increased public criticism of the INS with charges 
that INS was `rushing people through' in order to 
increase Democratic voters before the November 1996 
elections.  These political accusations are likely 
to continue.  As a consequence of both the increased 
number of applications and INS efforts to redouble 
its vigilance, the processing time for immigrants 
seeking to become US citizens has increased. Once an 
individual has submitted an application and paid the 
fee, it takes more than a year before a decision is 
made on his or her case.

 Although many immigrants are naturalizing, 
there are particular difficulties for the elderly -- 
who are also those most affected by the cut-off of 
welfare benefits.  In addition to requirements of 
residency and lack of criminal record, an immigrant 
must be able to pass an English-language test, a 
basic civics test and be competent to swear an oath 
of allegiance to the US government.  Elderly 
immigrants who have not learned English or who have 
mental disorders which preclude their understanding 
the process (or swearing an oath) are left out.  
While there are provisions for waivers of the 
requirements for disabled immigrants, the process is 
complicated and lengthy.  

Anti-immigrant backlash:  policy manifestations

 In addition, the immigration legislation  
includes a host of measures to make the lives of 
immigrants already in the US more difficult, 
including:

1.  Non-asylum seekers arriving in the US may be 
deported immediately without any administrative 
hearings or judicial review to safeguard against 
erroneous decisions.

Example:  The Nicaraguan-born wife of a US citizen 
returned briefly to Nicaragua to attend the funeral 
of her father.  However, her purse, including her 
green card, was stolen before her return to the US.  
Without proper documents, she is immediately sent 
back to Nicaragua without any opportunity to contest 
her deportation.

2.  Judicial power to review erroneous INS decisions 
or to check abuses of power is severely restricted.

3.  Verification pilot programs are established in 
five states to ensure that new employees are legally 
elible to work. Participation in the program is 
voluntary for private employers, but mandatory for 
workers in the participating businesses. Anyone 
applying for a job will soon have to produce one of 
just six acceptable documents to prove their 
eligibility to work.  US birth certificates will no 
longer be acceptable forms of identification.

4.  US citizens and lawful residents must have an 
income of 125% of the poverty level in order to 
sponsor an immigrant relative.  For a family of 
four, 125% of the poverty level is $19,500.  
Moreover a person who signs an affidavit of support 
to bring a relative is now legally responsible for 
the immigrant until he or she becomes a citizen or 
is credited with 40 quarters (10 years) of paying 
into Social Security.

5.  The number of Border Patrol agents will be 
increased by 1,000 per year for the next five years.  
The law mandates the construction of a triple-tiered 
fence and system of roads along the border near San 
Diego.  

6.  The maximum prison term for people convicted of 
document fraud is increased to 15 years.  

7.  Penalties for immigrants who have committed 
crimes have been dramatically increased.  In some 
cases, an immigrant who shoplifted a single item 
from a grocery store 10 years ago, for example, may 
face deportation.  There is no sympathy for 
`criminal aliens.'

 A sign of hope?  Against this backdrop of 
negative public opinion and restrictive legislation, 
there are flickers of hope that the tide may be 
turning.  More Republicans are commenting on the 
consequences of being portrayed as the "anti-
immigrant party" and immigrants are becoming US 
citizens in very large numbers -- enough to be a 
viable political force in certain states.  Moreover, 
when the consequences of the welfare reform law 
begin to hit home -- when nursing home residents are 
turned out on the sidewalks, or disabled elderly 
begin turning up homeless and destitute on church 
doorsteps -- there may be a popular outcry 
sufficient to overturn the most negative effects of 
the legislation.

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