Second Opinion / India West : Elderly Immigrants and Denial of Supplemental Income

The Republican “contract with America,” with its Personal Responsibility Act, has become a nightmare for elderly immigrants. The bill containing the above act has been passed by the House and is under the consideration of the Senate.

The bill, among other things, proposes to deny welfare, Supplemental Social Security, Medicaid (MediCal in California), Medicare and other benefits to all immigrants except those who are 75 years old and above and who have been in the U.S. for five years or more.

Current beneficiaries may, however, continue to receive benefits for one year after the enactment if the bill becomes law.

David Stein, executive director of the Federation for Immigration Reform alleges that there is a tendency among elderly immigrants to transfer the assets to their children and come to Supplemental Security Income as fast as they can. Andrew Beveridge, a sociologist at Queens College, states that about 20% of immigrants receiving supplemental benefits actually live in households with incomes above $50,000.

[But] statistics also indicate that immigrants arriving after 1970 pay a total of $70 billion [a year] in taxes, generating $25-$30 billion more than they use in public services. Apart from the fact that the economic consequences of immigration are largely positive, the social, cultural and moral goals [should] not be overlooked.

Unfortunately, elderly immigrants came to this country at such advanced ages that they could not gather work expertise to earn a living.

While retirement homes are subsidized to accommodate parents of American-born youngsters at the cost of the state, this is a style of American culture, where elders seek [shelter with] the state instead of their children. All elders--parents of American-born youngsters and those of naturalized citizens--deserve the protection of the state when they lack the resources to maintain themselves. Legal elderly immigrants need not be singled out.