Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Assistance: Policy Overview and Trends

Publication Date: January 2007

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Population and demographics; Social conditions

Type:

Abstract:

The eligibility of noncitizens for public assistance programs is based on a complex set of rules that are determined largely by the type of noncitizen in question and the nature of services being offered. The extent to which residents of the United States who are not U.S. citizens should be eligible for federally funded public aid has been a contentious issue for more than a decade. This issue meets at the intersection of two major policy areas: immigration policy and welfare policy. Over the past ten years, Congress has enacted significant changes in U.S. immigration policy and welfare policy. Congress has exercised oversight of revisions made by the 1996 welfare reform law (the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, P.L. 104-193) -- including the rules governing noncitizen eligibility for public assistance that it established -- and legislation covering programs with major restrictions on noncitizens' eligibility (e.g., food stamps, Medicaid).

This report deals with the four major federal means-tested benefit programs: the Food Stamp program, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant programs, and Medicaid. Laws in place for the past decade restrict the eligibility of legal permanent residents (LPRs), refugees, asylees, and other noncitizens for means-tested public aid. Noncitizens' eligibility for major federal means-tested benefits largely depends on their immigration status, whether they arrived (or were on a program's rolls) before August 22, 1996, the enactment date of P.L. 104-193, and how long they have lived and worked in the United States.

LPRs with a substantial work history or military connection are eligible for the full range of programs, as are asylees, refugees, and other humanitarian cases (for at least five to seven years after entry). Other LPRs must meet additional eligibility requirements. For food stamps, they generally must have been legally resident for five years or be children. For SSI benefits, they must have been recipients as of August 22, 1996, or resident as of that date and disabled. Under TANF and Medicaid, they generally are ineligible for five years after entry and then eligible at state option. Unauthorized aliens (often referred to as illegal aliens) are not eligible for most federal benefits, regardless of whether they are means tested, with notable exceptions for emergency services.

TANF, SSI, food stamp, and Medicaid recipiency among noncitizens has decreased over the past decade. While this decrease was affected by the statutory changes, the poverty rate of noncitizens has also diminished over the past decade. The poverty rate for noncitizens residing in the United States fell from 27.8% in 1995 to 20.4% in 2005. Despite this shrinking percentage of noncitizens in poverty, noncitizens are still disproportionately poorer than native-born residents of the United States.

This report will be updated as warranted.