Opinion ID: 765903
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Welfare Reform Act

Text: 3 The Welfare Reform Act significantly restricted the eligibility of noncitizens lawfully in the United States to receive welfare benefits. See Pub. L. No. 104-193, 110 Stat. 2105, 2262-64 (1996). 1 Section 402(a) of the Act provides that, subject to certain exceptions, qualified alien[s] are not eligible to receive SSI or Food Stamp benefits. 8 U.S.C. sec. 1612(a) (1998). 2 As defined in sec. 431 of the Act, qualified aliens include permanent resident aliens, asylees, refugees, aliens who are paroled into the United States, aliens whose deportation is being withheld, aliens who have been granted conditional entry, certain Cuban and Haitian entrants, and certain battered aliens. See id. sec. 1641. 3 4 Section 402(a)(2) enumerates several exceptions that allow various sub-groups within the qualified alien population to remain eligible for SSI, Food Stamps, or both. Refugees, asylees, aliens whose deportation is being withheld, certain Cuban and Haitian entrants, and certain Amerasian immigrants remain eligible for 7 years after the date they are admitted to the United States or are granted the relevant status. See id. sec. 1612(a)(2)(A). Permanent resident aliens who have worked for 40 qualifying quarters, as well as aliens who are veterans or on active duty (and their spouses and dependent children), retain their eligibility for the benefits. See id. sec. 1612(a)(2)(B), (C). Aliens lawfully residing in the United States who were receiving SSI benefits as of the date of enactment (August 22, 1996) retain their eligibility for SSI. See id. sec. 1612(a)(2)(E). 4 Aliens who were receiving Food Stamps on the date of enactment remained eligible thereafter for a limited grace period, which is now over. See id. sec. 1612(a)(2)(D)(ii). Aliens who were lawfully residing in the United States on the date of enactment retain eligibility for SSI if they are blind or disabled and for Food Stamps if they are receiving benefits or assistance for blindness or disability within the meaning of the Food Stamp Act of 1977. Id. sec. 1612(a)(2)(F). Members of Indian tribes, as defined in 25 U.S.C. sec. 450b(e), and certain American Indians born in Canada remain eligible for the benefits. See 8 U.S.C. sec. 1612(a)(2)(G). Aliens who received SSI benefits after July 1996 on the basis of an application filed before January 1, 1979, also retain eligibility for SSI. See id. sec. 1612(a)(2)(H). Aliens who were either 65 or older or under 18, and were lawfully residing in the United States on the date of enactment, remain eligible for Food Stamps. See id. sec. 1612(a)(2)(I), (J). Finally, certain Hmong and Highland Laotians who are lawfully residing in the United States, and their spouses and dependent children, remain eligible for Food Stamps. See id. sec. 1612(a)(2)(K). 5 In sec. 402(b) of the Act, Congress authorized the states, subject to certain exceptions, to determine the eligibility of qualified aliens for three other federal benefit programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Social Services Block Grants (SSBG), and Medicaid. See id. sec. 1612(b). The exceptions to this provision, enumerated in sec. 402(b)(2), are similar to the exceptions in sec. 402(a)(2) and provide that certain subgroups are eligible for the designated federal programs.