Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 25 February 2020
Crackdown on immigrants who use public benefits takes effect

By ANITA SNOW covered by the new rules. handled the litigation in- and housing vouchers. said the guidelines are so
Associated Press The guidelines that aim to consistently in their desire The chilling effect spread- complicated that there
PHOENIX (AP) — Pastor determine whether immi- to give Trump a victory. ing through immigrant com- have even been reports of
Antonio Velasquez says grants seeking legal resi- White House press secretary munities recalls how millions parents dropping their kids'
that before the Trump ad- dency may become a gov- Stephanie Grisham said of refugees dumped social free school lunches, which
ministration announced a are not affected.
crackdown on immigrants Gelatt noted that the rules
using government social apply only to social ser-
services, people lined up vices used after Monday
before sunrise outside a and do not affect citizens
state office in a largely La- or most green card holders.
tino Phoenix neighborhood Refugees vetted by federal
to sign up for food stamps agencies before their ar-
and Medicaid. rival, as well as people who
No more. obtain asylum, are not af-
"You had to arrive at 3 in fected.
the morning, and it might The guidelines don't apply
take you until the end of to many programs for chil-
the day," he said, pointing dren and pregnant and
behind the office in the postnatal women, includ-
Maryvale neighborhood ing Head Start early child-
to show how long the lines hood education and WIC.
got. Nevertheless, Stephanie
But no one lined up one Santiago, who manages
recent weekday morning, two Phoenix-area clinics
and there were just a hand- for the nonprofit Mountain
ful of people inside. Park Health Center, said
With new rules taking ef- during the last three months
fect Monday that disqualify of 2019 she suddenly saw
more people from green scores of immigrants drop
cards if they use govern- those and other benefits.
ment benefits, droves of "People are very scared
immigrants, including citi- In this Jan. 31, 2019, file photo, hundreds of people overflow onto the sidewalk in a line snaking about the rules," Santiago
zens and legal residents, around the block outside a U.S. immigration office with numerous courtrooms in San Francisco. said. "The sad thing is that
have dropped social ser- Associated Press they even drop the services
vices they or their children their U.S. citizen kids qualify
may be entitled to out of ernment burden are part of Saturday that the change services during the welfare for. A lot of these kids are
fear they will be kicked out the Trump administration's will "reestablish the funda- changes of the 1990s, even going to school sick or their
of the U.S., said Velazquez broader effort to reduce mental legal principle that though the legislation that parents are paying out of
and other advocates. immigration, particularly newcomers to our society prompted the cuts explic- pocket for services they
"This will bring more pov- among poorer people. should be financially self- itly exempted them. should get for free."
erty, more homeless, more The rules that critics say reliant and not dependent Nazanin Ash, Washington- Cynthia Aragon, outreach
illness," said Velasquez, a amount to a "wealth test" on the largess of United based vice president for coordinator for the non-
well-known leader among were set to take effect in States taxpayers." global policy and advo- profit Helping Families in
Spanish-speaking immi- October but were delayed Ken Cuccinelli, acting cacy for the nonprofit In- Need in Phoenix, said that
grants in the Phoenix area. by legal challenges alleg- deputy Homeland Security ternational Rescue Com- because of the confusion,
Advocates around the U.S. ing a violation of due pro- secretary, said Monday on mittee, pointed to research she is steering people to
gathered Monday to dis- cess under the U.S. Consti- Fox News Channel's "Fox & showing some 37 percent private sources of aid, like
cuss and criticize the policy. tution. The Supreme Court Friends" that the change is of refugees exempted from food banks and church-run
Participants at a New York last month cleared the way "not a moral judgment on the Clinton-era changes in clinics.
City roundtable said that in for the Trump administra- individuals, it is an econom- welfare benefits dropped "I think people will start
anticipation of the change, tion to move forward while ic one." food stamps they were en- applying for government
neighborhoods with higher the rules were litigated in He said the government titled to. services again after it be-
immigrant populations had the courts. expects "people seeking Ash said the Trump admin- comes clearer how things
seen enrollment declines in A 5-4 vote Friday by the to be long-term immigrants istration rules would likely are going to work," Aragon
the Special Supplemental high court sided with the here, and maybe join us cause similar hardships for said. "In the meantime, we
Nutrition Program for Wom- Trump administration by lift- as citizens, will be able to immigrants who contribute tell immigrants to look for
en, Infants and Children, ing a last injunction cover- stand on their own two to the American economy. some of the other resourc-
known as WIC. They also ing just Illinois, giving White feet." He said the rules were "To call them a burden on es out there and don't feel
urged immigrants to get House adviser Stephen "a major priority for the society is factually incor- like a victim."q
legal advice on how they Miller and other hardliners president." rect," she said.
may be affected. a resounding win in one of Federal law already re- The nonprofit Migration Pol-
In Boston, the Rev. Dieufort their boldest attempts to quires those seeking to per- icy Institute in Washington
Fleurissaint said some Hai- limit legal immigration. manent residency or legal said in an August policy pa-
tian immigrants worry that Justice Sonia Sotomayor status to prove they will not per that it expects "a signifi-
accepting benefits could issued a blistering dissent, be a burden to the U.S. — a cant share" of the nearly 23
keep their relatives from criticizing the administra- "public charge," in govern- million noncitizens and U.S.
coming to the U.S. tion for quickly turning to ment lingo. But the new citizens in immigrant fami-
Bethany Li, of Greater Bos- the Supreme Court after rules include a wider range lies who use public benefits
ton Legal Services, said facing losses in lower courts of programs that could dis- will drop them.
Chinese families are pass- and suggesting that her qualify them, including us- Julia Gelatt, a senior policy
ing on WIC benefits not conservative colleagues ing Medicaid, food stamps analyst with the institute,