Ban on Adding Immigrant Kin to Welfare Rolls Is Recommended
Families who bring relatives into the country should be prohibited from adding them to welfare rolls, a federal advisory commission recommended Tuesday.
The Commission on Immigration Reform, headed by former Rep. Barbara Jordan (D-Tex.), said the government must get tough with the growing number of immigrants who wind up on welfare despite their relatives’ promises to support them financially.
Most legal immigrants are the spouses, children, parents or siblings of U.S. citizens or long-term permanent residents. These relatives, known as sponsors, must agree to support the new arrival and are required to sign an affidavit of support.
Court decisions, however, have made the affidavit unenforceable.
The commission also recommended making it easier for the government to deport legal immigrants who get on welfare within five years of their arrival in the United States.
But Jordan told the House Ways and Means subcommittee on human resources that welfare benefits should remain available to legal immigrants whose families’ financial circumstances change significantly after their arrival.
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