Thread: Court settlement to aid immigrants who lost benefits

Posted on Fri, Feb. 29, 2008

Court settlement to aid immigrants who lost benefits

By Michael Vitez

Inquirer Staff Writer
Elderly and disabled immigrants who were granted asylum in America - but who have lost government benefits because of delays in getting citizenship - will now have their applications to become citizens expedited.

That is the essence of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit in federal court in Philadelphia, and is expected to be approved at 2 p.m. today in a hearing before U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno.

When granted asylum, these elderly and disabled immigrants, who also are poor, were given monthly Supplementary Security Income benefits of about $600 a month.

Under federal law, these people were supposed to receive the monthly SSI for seven years, until they became U.S. citizens and would be entitled to the benefit.

But because of bureaucratic delays in processing green-card applications and in granting citizenship, the seven years ran out for thousands of immigrants, and their SSI benefits stopped.

An estimated 20,000 disabled and elderly immigrants lost benefits. An additional 40,000 are expected to be terminated in coming years, according to Jonathan Stein, general counsel for Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, which filed the suit last year against several federal agencies.

"It's a big step forward," Stein said of the settlement. "It puts them well toward the top of the list for citizenship, and recognizes how much is at stake and what hardship they go through."

Stein said the settlement did not set a time frame for expedited applications to be approved.

While the settlement will move those who have lost their benefits to the top of the list of people waiting for background checks and other necessary steps to citizenship, it does not restore their SSI benefits.

That can happen only when citizenship is obtained.

Stein said Congress is working on a law to restore benefits for those still waiting, with U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) a chief advocate.

The initial lawsuit, Kaplan v. Chertoff, was filed in December 2006. The plaintiff for whom it was named, Shmul Kaplan, 81, of Levittown, was granted asylum in 1997 to escape religious persecution in Russia. Three years ago, the federal government cut off his $590-a-month SSI.

One of Kaplan's legs was severed and the other crushed in a train accident years ago. He finally became a United States citizen, and had his SSI restored, in September.

"I feel I must something do for America, too," he said after passing the citizenship test. "I commit myself. I am happy."

Contact staff writer Michael Vitez at 215-854-5639 or mvitez@phillynews.com.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa ... efits.html

Do we just grant asylum, then put them on the payroll? It's almost impossible for a citizen to get disability anymore. It's something like two years to get a hearing and most everyone is turned down on the first attempt.

Looks that way for at least 60,000.

This is similar to a previous posting about the US as the World's Retirement Home. I guess we are supposed to take in the aged relatives of just about anybody who asks. Lord knows how we are going to pay all of their bills.