Law Barring Benefits to Immigrants is 'Hot Air'

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada was cited in an article on a new Virginia law that "bars undocumented immigrants from receiving state-funded benefits, the latest legislative effort to harness the state's growing illegal immigrant population," according to the Associated Press. Said Tejada, "The proponents of this law could never cite specific figures of exactly how much (money) it is that immigrants are draining out of the system. It's a lot of hot air." He cited a 2003 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study that characterized as 'negligible'" foreign-born use of major social services benefits programs.

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Law Bars Undocumented Aliens from Receiving Va. Benefits
By DIONNE WALKER Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A new Virginia law bars undocumented immigrants from receiving state-funded benefits, the latest legislative effort to harness the state's growing illegal immigrant population.
The law, effective Jan. 1, restricts anyone unable to furnish a Social Security number from tapping Medicaid, temporary assistance for needy families and a handful of other state and local programs.
Proponents who debated the legislation in the General Assembly said the restrictions could save the commonwealth millions.
"A lot of us were saying, instead of raising taxes, why don't we start prioritizing where we're spending our existing money," said Del. David Albo, R-Fairfax, who sponsored the bill. "One of the things we found out was the state was not checking for legal presence for Medicaid."
Immigrant activists contend, however, that the Virginia law duplicates other state and federal laws that already block illegal aliens from gaining government benefits. Federal law, for example, prohibits immigrants lacking green cards or work visas from tapping food stamps and similar programs.
The activists also fear the new law could confuse legal immigrants and keep them from applying for benefits to which they are entitled.
Though he couldn't specify how many illegal aliens might be receiving public benefits, Albo pointed to 2004 legislation he sponsored restricting illegals from obtaining driver's licenses.
"In the first year, 187,000 people were turned away from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles," he said. "To me, the same arguments that presented themselves for the DMV driver's license debate are here in the public benefits debate."
But social services officials aren't being bombarded by illegals, said Walter Tejada, who chairs the Virginia Latino Advisory Commission.
"The proponents of this law could never cite specific figures of exactly how much (money) it is that immigrants are draining out of the system," Tejada said. "It's a lot of hot air."
He cited a 2003 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study that characterized as "negligible" foreign-born use of major social services benefits programs.
Many immigrants don't even realize the services are available, said Dan Jannuzzi, medical director of Cross Over Ministry, a Richmond free clinic that provides medical services to about 8,000 undocumented immigrants a year.
Even those with children who qualify for benefits often don't know enough English to apply. Among them, the nuances of the law could be lost, Jannuzzi said.
"These are peasants right off the fields of Guatemala," he explained. "They don't think the government provides that sort of stuff."
Still, social services officials acknowledge that while it's unlikely illegal immigrants are accessing programs, it's not impossible.
"I can't tell you that there are no illegal aliens that have ever received benefits," said Duke Storen, who directs benefits programs with the Department of Social Services. "I'm sure there are a few."
More likely affected are legal immigrants, who may be asked to produce more identification when applying for programs, a VLAC report on the law's impact concluded in November.
Advocates fear that people entitled to everything from medical funds to help with burial expenses will be confused and dissuaded from applying for benefits.
"We had someone from Virginia Beach call alarmed that this means she can no longer take her kids to school," Tejada said. "There's an educational process that's needed."
Tejada said legislation such as Albo's goes beyond cost cutting.
"It's the fear, the fear factor that some people enjoy creating," he said. "There's an anti-immigrant sentiment and it's clearly shown in these initiatives."
Similar laws are pending in Georgia and Oklahoma as states crack down on illegal aliens, said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a nonprofit dedicated to revising immigration policy. National estimates suggest roughly 500,000 aliens enter the nation annually, many settling in Southern states like North Carolina and Georgia.
Before "it was easier just to look the other way," Mehlman said. "What's happening now in Virginia and other places is the cost of looking away has become prohibitive."