American kids denied food stamps in Alabama under immigration law
By Liz Goodwin
National Affairs Reporter
The Lookout – Tue, Feb 7, 2012
There were protesters outside the Alabama statehouse in November.
Some U.S.-born children with parents who are illegal immigrants have been denied food stamps under Alabama's new immigration law, Southern Poverty Law Center President Richard Cohen told Yahoo News on Monday.
Five people have called into the group's Alabama hotline to say they were denied food stamps because they couldn't prove they were legal residents, even though the food stamps are for their children, who are citizens.
Cohen says the civil rights group, which has already filed two lawsuits against Alabama over the law, will most likely bring another suit over the denied food stamps.
The law makes it a felony for a government employee to engage in "business transactions" with illegal immigrants, which some government employees have interpreted very broadly. Illegal immigrants have been told they can't pay their utility bills or even their taxes because it would count as a "transaction" with the government, according to Cohen.
Barry Spear, a spokesman for Alabama's Department of Human Services, said in an email to Yahoo News that it is not the agency's policy to demand proof of citizenship from the guardians of Americans who need food stamps. "We are unaware of any violations of the policy," Spear said.
Several parts of the law have been temporarily blocked pending the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decision on whether the law is constitutional or not. But the "business transaction" prohibition, as well as a mandate for local police to ask for proof of legal status during stops, were left to stand. Some Republican lawmakers say they want to amend the law this year, while a coalition of Democrats is trying to repeal it entirely.
Illegal immigrants are prohibited from accessing most welfare benefits, including food stamps, non-emergency Medicaid and cash welfare programs. Their children, if born in America, can access welfare programs as citizens. (The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that about 4.5 million American citizens under 18 years old have at least one undocumented parent.)
Last month, Kansas kicked more than 1,000 mixed-status families off its food stamp program when it joined three other states in adopting a stricter food stamp eligibility policy. A low-income family of five made up of two undocumented parents and three citizen children now has to show that its income is close to the poverty level for a family of three--not a family of five--in order to access food stamps. This is intended to prevent illegal immigrants from benefiting from food stamps, but immigration advocates say it will leave citizen kids hungry.
The Justice Department has sued Arizona, Alabama, South Carolina and Utah over laws that crack down on illegal immigrants, saying they interfere with the federal government's control over immigration. The Supreme Court will hear arguments over Arizona's SB1070 beginning on April 25.
MTW-
This is so crazy- the way I like it. They come here and have “anchor” babies, and are now upset that they do not receive benefits? This Country is not a charity. This is not UNICEF. If the entire country adopted a stronger stance, and used a similar policy, maybe we could put an end to the enormous amount of taxpayer money which is wasted on the illegals that come here and have these babies so that they can stay. I disagree with these babies-who have illegal aliens as parents, being allowed to receive ANY benefits awarded, as if the parents had ever paid one single cent in taxes. I do not think our immigration laws are correct. Our President has only one American parent. Good enough, as long as he was born here. Who knows? This is not the 20th century, there are not any more ships filled with immigrants-filling out PAPERWORK- at Ellis Island. Now, they sneak in and pay no taxes and expect benefits. Thus, with the colossal drain on our economy these aliens have put forth upon us, maybe the law should be changed to eliminate “anchor” babies, by saying the child is not an American citizen unless at least one of the child’s parents is in fact a legal citizen, at least by the time of the actual birth. It sounds so simple to me, but we all know that Congress and the President- any Congress, any President- never seem to do anything to help us in the easiest way possible. What do you expect from a slew of former attorneys? They started their professional careers in that adversarial process became quite adept at it, and merely continue their desire to oppose the other side, be it Democrat or Republican, just or unjust. I think Shakespeare put it best in Henry VI, part 2, act 4, scene 2, when Dick, a member of the gang of Jack Cade, pretender to the throne, said “The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers”. Of course, as a Christian, I believe killing is wrong, but Shakespeare had a point, showing in several plays his disdain for lawyers. They seem to do their job, whether it stands in the way of justice, or not. Just doing their job, is no different than saying “I was only following orders”, even when you know they are wrong, and innocent people are made to suffer. Yeah, you know it. I am certain that in World War II, in Europe, there were many Nazi SS prison guards whom have said that they were simply “following orders” or doing their jobs, as they proceeded to murder millions of people and put them in ovens. Do you think that they were doing what was just? Or just doing their job? If they did not, I am sure they too, would be killed. Their boss WAS insane. What is the excuse of the average attorney these days? They certainly are not marked for death if they insist on doing the right thing; it is only MONEY that drives them, certainly not JUSTICE! For God’s sake, there is a group of Law School graduates suing their own schools, because they cannot find jobs as attorneys. How is it the school’s fault that they decided to become lawyers? Potential future politicians. The single worst problem we have other than the illegals. Read the post following this one and decide.
GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
Post and comments by Michael T. Wayne- A Little Crazy
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