"Qualified" immigrants reaching end of five-year bar; some states yet to provide for benefits eligibility
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 15, No. 5, Aug. 31, 2001

On Aug. 22, 2001, immigrants who obtained "qualified" immigrant status on or after the effective date of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) will begin reaching the end of the five-year bar. The PRWORA barred most qualified immigrants who entered the U.S. on or after Aug. 22, 1996, from receiving "federal means-tested public benefits" (i.e., Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and non-emergency Medicaid) during the first five years after they secure qualified immigrant status. Immigrants face additional restrictions in eligibility for SSI and food stamps.

Advocates should ensure that state agencies are aware that post-Aug. 22, 1996, entrants who reach the end of the five-year bar may be eligible for federal Medicaid, TANF, and SCHIP benefits. Some states have not yet taken advantage of federal Medicaid and TANF funding to provide benefits for all eligible immigrants. Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas provide TANF only to lawful permanent residents credited with 40 quarters of work, veterans and active duty military and their spouses and children, individuals granted status as a refugee, asylee, Amerasian immigrant, or Cuban/Haitian entrant, and persons granted withholding of removal or deportation. Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming provide Medicaid only to lawful permanent residents credited with 40 quarters of work, veterans and active duty military and their spouses and children, individuals granted status as a refugee, asylee, Amerasian immigrant, or Cuban/Haitian entrant, and persons granted withholding of removal or deportation. Idaho also provides Medicaid to qualified abused immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for five years, while Wyoming provides Medicaid to qualified abused immigrants and persons paroled into the U.S. regardless of their date of entry.

Advocates in these states should remind their legislatures that federal funding is available and encourage them to implement policies providing eligibility for post-Aug. 22, 1996, entrants.