Immigrant Aid Cutoff Will Hit 22,000 in O.C.

The welfare reform bill President Clinton has said he will sign sparked both anticipation and anxiety throughout the county Wednesday, but the single largest group of welfare recipients holding its breath may be the Vietnamese population: It accounts for the largest number of those who stand to be cut off altogether from federal aid.

Under the bill, which the House has approved and which the Senate takes up today, legal immigrants who are not citizens will not be allowed to receive federal Supplemental Security Income, which could leave about 22,000 people in Orange County turning to county general relief. By state law, counties are a “safety net” of last resort for those who have nowhere else to turn.

And many of those immigrants on federal and local public assistance are elderly or disabled. County statistics indicate that 95% of immigrants receiving general relief are elderly people from Vietnam.

“For those who are disabled, for those who are very, very old, this will pose a very serious problem for them and they are worried,” said Mai Cong, president of the Vietnamese Community of Orange County, a Santa Ana-based social service agency that serves more than 5,000 Vietnamese seniors.

“They are asking us for solutions and we just don’t know what to tell them,” Cong said. “Here at the agency, we are asking ourselves what programs do we have that are innovative and creative enough to help. Where can we get the resources to help?”

No one yet has detailed answers to how people will be affected by welfare reform.

The bill, estimated to save the federal government up to $56 billion over six years, would end the 61-year-old federal guarantee of cash assistance to every poor family with children. Key provisions also include a lifetime limit of five years of welfare per family and the requirement that able-bodied adult recipients work after two years.

The federal government also would give each state an annual cash grant and allow them to design their own welfare programs within broad federal guidelines.

Although county officials Wednesday were still assessing the impact of the bill, the elimination of SSI for legal immigrants raised concerns with the county Social Services Agency, which administers general relief.

General relief is not funded with any state or federal dollars, and the county considers the $250 monthly payment to be a loan. SSI pays $614 a month for one person and $1,101 for a couple--more if the recipients are blind.

Established in 1974 for elderly, disabled and blind people, SSI has increasingly become a primary means of support for immigrants who are sponsored here by relatives but often go on public assistance. The eligibility categories are so broad that a wide range of people qualify for the monthly checks.

Supporters of banning legal immigrants from SSI say too many come to the U.S. specifically to take advantage of the program. Opponents say most immigrants come to the United States to work and that those who end up on welfare often truly need the help.

Angelo Doti, financial assistance director at the Social Services Agency, said he is generally supportive of the welfare reform bill because it aims to step up child support collection efforts and provides incentives for welfare-dependent people to work.

But he feared a wave of new general relief recipients would drain resources. Last year the county spent $211,526 on its general relief program, which serves about 3,000 people--890 of whom are legal immigrants. Adding 22,000 is unthinkable, Doti said.

When federal support stops, Doti asked, “will [sponsored immigrants] turn to the counties of California? Past performance is they will.”

Still, he added, “I’m not going to assume the worst just yet. All we can do now is just wait.”

At the state Capitol, Gov. Pete Wilson said he was disappointed with the bill that emerged, saying it “does not constitute comprehensive reform.”

Wilson complained that the measure does not reform the Medicaid program for the poor, known in California as Medi-Cal. And it prohibits the state from eliminating its supplement to SSI payments, which will cost California taxpayers more than $270 million a year.

A spokesman for the governor said administration officials will meet next week to review how the state can implement the welfare changes and whether state legislation is needed.

“What the House of Representatives did pass . . . is certainly an improvement over the current system,” Wilson said. “No longer will California be required to receive federal permission to promote work by reducing welfare grants, or end outdated policies which reward teenage pregnancy, or stop the destructive cycle of dependency. . . .”