Support the Extension of SSI Eligibility for Humanitarian Immigrants!

Since
August 2003, thousands of elderly and disabled refugees have lost
access to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a life-sustaining public
benefits program. In an effort to help these individuals, HIAS is
advocating for legislation that would extend refugees’ eligibility for
SSI.

Background
For
over 123 years, HIAS has helped refugees, asylees, and other
humanitarian immigrants begin lives of safety and security in the
United States. While the vast majority of refugees continue their
education and find employment in their adopted homeland, elderly or
disabled refugees need assistance from the U.S. Government to survive.

Provisions of the 1996 welfare law imposed severe restrictions on legal
immigrants’ access to public benefits. Among the hardest hit was the
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which is a need-based
program that provides a basic monthly income to people who are age 65
or older, disabled, or blind. While most new immigrants were barred
from receiving this benefit, special consideration was made for
refugees. As a result, under current law, refugees are eligible to
receive SSI for their first seven years in the U.S.

While it is technically possible for refugees to become citizens within
this seven-year period, there are a number of practical reasons why
this often does not occur:

• Processing delays and increased security
  checks in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services prevent a
  refugee from naturalizing within the allotted time.
• Many elderly refugees have difficulty learning English and cannot pass the English language civics exam.
• Asylees are subject to an arbitrary cap on the number of persons who
  may get green cards each year, resulting in a backlog of up to 22 years
  to achieve citizenship.

August 22, 2003
marked the 7-year anniversary of the welfare bill, thereby cutting off
eligibility for SSI benefits to the first significant wave of refugees.
Since then, thousands of refugees have lost their benefits and 20,000
individuals are projected to lose benefits by 2010. Of this number,
8,000 will be refugees from the former Soviet Union. In order to
protect all of these elderly and disabled individuals, it is necessary
to remove the time restrictions on eligibility so that these
individuals can continue to receive SSI regardless of immigration
status while they work to become citizens.

In his fiscal year (FY) 2005 and 2006 budget requests, President Bush
acknowledged the problem of deserving refugees losing their access to
benefits and proposed a short-term one-year extension of eligibility.
Additionally, Congress also recognized the importance of this issue. On
February 17, 2005, Senators Smith (R-OR) and Kohl (D-WI) reintroduced
legislation to provide a two-year extension of eligibility for elderly
and disabled refugees, as well as a provision to cover those who lost
benefits prior to enactment of the legislation (S.453). On the same
day, Representatives Cardin (D-MD) and English (R-PA) reintroduced a
companion bill (H.R.899). While this legislation will not permanently
resolve the problem, passage is an essential step to assist these needy
refugees.

Here’s How You Can Help
Please contact your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor the “SSI
Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act,” S.543. Please also
contact your Representative and ask that he or she co-sponsor the House
version, H.R.899. Below are sample letters to the Senate and House for
your use or adaptation. Fax, if possible, or mail your appeal as soon
as possible. Follow up with a phone call to the office. To find contact
information for your Senators, visit: www.senate.gov; for your Representative, visit: www.house.gov.

To find out if your Senators have already cosponsored the legislation, visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN00453:@@@P; for your Representative, visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR00899:@@@P. If the event that your Members of Congress are already cosponsors, please contact them and thank them for their support.

[Date]

Dear Senator [Name]:

Since August 2003, thousands of elderly and disabled refugees have lost
access to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a life-sustaining public
benefits program. In an effort to help these individuals, Senators
Smith (R-OR), and Kohl (D-WI) have introduced legislation that would
extend refugees’ eligibility for SSI.

As a leader in refugee resettlement, the United States has long offered
sanctuary to refugees, asylees, and other humanitarian immigrants
fleeing persecution in their native countries. While the vast majority
of refugees continue their education and find employment in their
adopted homeland, elderly or disabled refugees need assistance from the
U.S. Government to survive.

The 1996 welfare law imposed severe restrictions on legal immigrants’
access to public benefits, including a bar on receiving SSI. However,
special consideration was made for refugees and other similarly
situated migrants, and these individuals were granted eligibility for
their first seven years in the U.S. While it is technically possible
for refugees to become citizens within this time period, and thus
remain eligible for SSI, many cannot because of bureaucratic and
security delays; difficulty learning English in order to pass the
naturalization exam; and a lengthy backlog for asylees, due to a cap
limiting the number who receive green cards each year.

August 2003 marked the 7-year anniversary of the welfare bill, thereby
cutting off eligibility for SSI benefits to the first significant wave
of refugees. In order to help these vulnerable migrants,

I urge you to become a cosponsor of S. 453, the Smith-Kohl bill, that
would provide much needed assistance to these elderly and disabled
refugees.

Thank you for considering this important issue.

Sincerely,

[Name]
[Address]

[Date]

Dear Representative [Name]:

Since August 2003, thousands of elderly and disabled refugees have lost
access to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a life-sustaining public
benefits program. In an effort to help these individuals,
Representative Cardin (D-MD) and English (R-PA have introduced
legislation that would extend refugees’ eligibility for SSI.

As a leader in refugee resettlement, the United States has long offered
sanctuary to refugees, asylees, and other humanitarian immigrants
fleeing persecution in their native countries. While the vast majority
of refugees continue their education and find employment in their
adopted homeland, elderly or disabled refugees need assistance from the
U.S. Government to survive.

The 1996 welfare law imposed severe restrictions on legal immigrants’
access to public benefits, including a bar on receiving SSI. However,
special consideration was made for refugees and other similarly
situated migrants, and these individuals were granted eligibility for
their first seven years in the U.S. While it is technically possible
for refugees to become citizens within this time period, and thus
remain eligible for SSI, many cannot because of bureaucratic and
security delays; difficulty learning English in order to pass the
naturalization exam; and a lengthy backlog for asylees, due to a cap
limiting the number who receive green cards each year.

August 2003 marked the 7-year anniversary of the welfare bill, thereby
cutting off eligibility for SSI benefits to the first significant wave
of refugees. In order to help these vulnerable migrants,

I urge you to become a cosponsor of H.R.899, the Cardin-English bill,
that would provide much needed assistance to these elderly and disabled
refugees.

Thank you for considering this important issue.

Sincerely,
[Name]
[Address]