Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) received bi-partisan support for two letters calling for administrative changes to protect the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) of nearly one million legal immigrants who are elderly or disabled.
Over 80 House Members urged the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to implement a policy of expediting citizenship applications of elderly immigrants who will otherwise lose benefits in August.
They encouraged the INS to adopt a policy granting a waiver of the English language and civics examination requirements for the physically and mentally disabled.
Members also asked the INS to provide a waiver or modification of the oath requirement for those with dementia or other mentally incapacitating diseases or disabilities. "While we recognize the intent of the new welfare law was to put able-bodied people to work, elderly and disabled immigrants receiving SSI benefits are a population that are clearly unable to care for themselves," Members said in the letter to INS Commissioner Doris Meissner.
They urged the Social Security Administration (SSA) to adopt a policy of permitting persons who have applied for U.S. citizenship to continue receiving benefits while the application is in process. "By acting now we can allay the tremendous fears elderly and disabled legal residents and their families are facing," Members wrote in the letter to SSA Commissioner Shirley Chater.
There is precedent for providing protection to legal immigrants who are applying for citizenship. Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), anyone who submitted a form indicating an intention to apply for U.S. citizenship would be covered by anti-discrimination protection when seeking work.
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