Anthony Brown, the Attorney General of Maryland has, along with a group of 20 other states, reinstated their legal challenges against the governance of the Trump Administration. The origin of this dispute rests on a policy change that was put in motion on July 10 by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This change concerns the cessation of government assistance, financed by taxpayers, towards individuals living without legal documentation in the U.S.
This entire series of events is tied around the governing body’s new understanding and implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) from 1996. In the words of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., this act has been experiencing incorrect enforcement since 1998. The initiation of this improper execution goes back to Bill Clinton’s presidency who decided to extend the benefits, formerly meant solely for American citizens, to unauthorized immigrants.
The Secretary points out that eligibility limitations for such programs have always been in place, and none of them should have been exempted under the principles of PRWORA. A specific program termed ‘Head Start’, that avails free early childhood education for families with a low income, stands out as one of the most affected due to Kennedy’s directive.
Estimations made by HHS imply that the implemented changes may result in American citizens gaining an increased total of $374 million per annum in Head Start provisions. By reclassifying Head Start, under the new PRWORA interpretation, priority is granted to American families, confirming that benefits sponsored by taxpayers are accessible to suitable individuals, as voiced by Andrew Gradison, the Acting Secretary of the Administration for Children and Families.
Despite Brown and his coalition arguing that the HHS undertook actions with insufficient notice, thereby violating the principles of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), HHS specifically indicates in their July 10 press release that the aforementioned policy would be made public in the Federal Register which provides a 30-day period for comments.
Nevertheless, the Democratic Attorneys General accuse the administration of inaccurately applying PRWORA to entire programs as opposed to individual benefits. The effects on various services, from food banks and homeless shelters to Head Start classrooms and Title X clinics would be extremely detrimental, especially for families and children already living in unfavorable conditions, as Brown pointed out.
Broad populations, inclusive of U.S. citizens, authorized residents, and new immigrants, are the beneficiaries of these programs, and are not designed to ascertain or verify immigration status. With the introduction of the new rules, experts warn that individuals might be hesitant to seek help and that it could lead to service disconnections and already stretched systems to destabilize further.
Title IV of PRWORA outlines the federal benefit eligibility for immigrants who are in the country illegally. It states the government’s compelling interest in drawing up new eligibility and sponsorship agreement rules that encourage self-sufficiency among immigrants, aligning with the national immigration policy. Simultaneously, it also aims to diminish incentives for illegal immigration by controlling accessibility to public benefits.
Such restrictions on federal benefits would apply to non-qualified aliens, with a few exceptions for medical emergencies, disaster relief, public health immunizations and treatment of communicable diseases, housing assistance, certain in-kind community services, and Social Security Act benefits under specified conditions.
This implies that qualified aliens would be ineligible, with few exceptions applicable to refugees, asylees, certain permanent residents, veterans, active duty personnel, aliens whose deportation has been deferred, and aliens currently receiving benefits, to avail supplemental security income (SSI), food stamps, temporary assistance for needy families, social services block grants, and Medicaid.
Qualified aliens would also be ineligible to avail Federal means-tested public benefits for the first five years after their entry into the U.S., again with a few exceptions for refugees, asylees, and veterans and active duty personnel. Special rules apply for certain Cuban and Haitian entrant assistance.
In line with this, all Federal agencies that administer a program covered by this title are obligated to post information and provide a general announcement either directly or via the States, to the public and program beneficiaries of the eligibility requirements concerning alien eligibility for any such program pursuant to this title.
This context spurred an Executive Order in February titled ‘Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders’. There have been several legal confrontations regarding this matter, some of which have been dismissed, whilst others are still in court.
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