Debate over immigrants heats up

August 2, 2008 - 11:00PM
Robert Boyer / Times-News

An ongoing SBI investigation into alias work notes written at the county Health Department and the arrest of a Graham library worker from Mexico accused of identity theft have raised questions and some confusion about what benefits are available to illegal immigrants in Alamance County.

The developments, and a subsequent protest by a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student, have inflamed an already fractious debate among county residents about how local authorities should deal with the influx of Hispanic immigrants when it comes to public assistance.

County Commissioner Tim Sutton, a leading local immigration reform advocate, is among those who say a rising tide of illegals and their legal children are straining county human service agencies.

Health board member and fellow Commissioner Bill Lashley are among those who say the issuing of health department doctor's notes with alias names has helped some illegal immigrants commit fraud.

Others, like Burlington resident Marilyn Tyler, think the arrest of the library worker, Marxavi Angel Martinez, does more harm than good. The detention and legal proceedings against an otherwise law-abiding and contributing member of the community will prove more costly to taxpayers than if authorities had not chosen to arrest and prosecute Angel-Martinez, Tyler has said.

Thanks in large part to health department investigation, determining who is eligible for public assistance and how to deal with multiple-name applicants for assistance has come into sharper focus at that agency and the county Department of Social Services.

The county Board of Health, at the initial urging of Chairman Keith Whited, recently required health staffers to include all names on work notes and took a stronger oversight role.

Susan Osborne, who heads the county's DSS, recently received clarification from the state Department of Health and Human Services regarding clients with multiple names or Social Security numbers who seek food stamps and Work First (welfare) benefits.

"Verification of income must be pursued under all names and social security numbers during the application/review process," for Work First, Charisse S. Johnson, a section chief with the state Division of Social Services, wrote in a July 15 letter to Osborne. "The methods used to calculate benefits must be based upon data that will yield the most accurate financial information."

Johnson reaffirmed that the department should use the Systematic Alien Verification Entitlements, a database at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to determine whether potential clients are legal U.S. residents. "When an applicant states they have a legal presence in the U.S., the applicant should provide documents that show their current immigration status," Johnson wrote. "A SAVE inquiry is done using the Alien Number that is on the provided document."

Local caseworkers are required to seek a secondary verification from SAVE if the first check fails to verify the client's documents. "If the secondary verification is returned from SAVE stating the document appears false, the immigration status cannot be determined" and the applicant is "considered as an unqualified immigrant and is ineligible to receive benefits for themselves."

Referring to guidelines in the Federal Register, which includes federal agency rules and presidential executive orders, Johnson wrote that such SAVE determinations are "not a finding of fact or conclusion of law that the individual is lawfully present in the U.S."

County DSS offices are required to report to her section "if it is ‘known' an immigrant has an unlawful presence in the U.S.," Johnson continued. "An agency only ‘knows' if an individual is in the country unlawfully if the immigrant gives the agency documentary evidence, such as a final order for deportation."

In addition, Johnson wrote that referrals to in-house fraud units of county departments "must be completed only if an individual has willfully and knowingly misstated" or "provided incorrect or misleading information to obtain or attempt to obtain benefits for which the individual is not eligible."

Further action against an applicant including "referral for prosecution will be initiated by the county department of social services for cases in which the ... department has sufficient documentary evidence" that a client committed a program violation.

But the emphasis, Johnson concluded, is on the alleged fraud, not citizenship. "This process applies to individuals that received benefits and not to individuals where immigration and citizen status is the issue. All rules of confidentiality must be applied in regards to citizenship and immigration status."

In a July 15 letter, Dean Simpson, the chief of the Economic Services Section of the division, outlined essentially the same process when local departments process food stamp applicants.

Osborne said her agency already followed those policies, but sought clarification in light of the health department inquiry.

On the question of who is eligible for services, the answers, in general, are surprisingly simple, but differ radically by department.

County health departments are required to treat any county resident who seeks services, regardless of their residency status.

The requirement are part of the departments' overriding mandate to protect against communicable diseases and other public health threats.

County social service departments are required to verify the identity of all applicants and the residency status of all those who receive assistance, Osborne said.

Illegal and "unqualified aliens" are eligible to receive only labor and delivery and emergency services under Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor, elderly and disabled.

These directives come from federal level.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees the Food Stamp program and pays the benefits; states disburse the benefits and set up their programs based on USDA guidelines.

In North Carolina, county departments of social services determine eligibility. Those qualifying receive food stamp debit cards via the mail.

Food stamp eligibility requirements come from the 2002 Farm Bill, which restored food stamp benefits to most qualifying legal immigrants, among other things.

Illegal immigrants and other unqualified aliens remained ineligible for food stamps. However, some non-citizens, such as members of American Indian tribes who were born in Canada, aliens with a military connection and some refugees, are eligible for some assistance.

Congress recently overrode President Bush's veto and passed a 2008 farm bill that changes the name of the Food Stamp program to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on Oct. 1.

"There were no changes to the eligibility standards that were included in the 2002 farm bill" for food stamps said Ed McDonald, the chief of staff for Rep. Howard Coble (R-6th district), the congressman who represents much of Alamance County. "Legal immigrants can qualify under SNAP for assistance. Illegal immigrants do not qualify under any circumstances."

U.S.-born children, regardless of their parents' residency status, are citizens and can receive food stamps if their families meet income and other eligibility requirements.

The level of food stamp assistance is based, in part, on the number of eligible household members.

The income of all family members, including illegal immigrants, is counted and prorated according to the number of eligible recipients. Illegal immigrants don't receive benefits, nor are they counted as a member of the family when benefits for qualifying family members are determined.

Osborne said the county DSS refers claims for emergency medical services to the state Division of Medical Assistance, who determines whether Medicaid will cover the expense.

In January 2007, 263 families with at least one member who was an undocumented immigrant received food stamps.

In June 2008, 354 families (with 575 eligible members) that had at least one undocumented immigrant received food stamps. Overall for the month of June, 5,772 families received food stamp benefits from the county DSS.

The increases have "been across the board" for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic clients, said DSS Assistant Director Linda Allison.
From July 2007 to June 2008, food stamp payments to Hispanic families in Alamance County totaled about $1.6 million, compared with $14.5 million for all recipients, Osborne said.

For Work First, the county doled out more than $67,650 for Hispanic Work First recipients, compared to about $1.23 million overall.
All the payments come from the federal government, Osborne said.

County figures do show a recent sharp drop in Medicaid applications from Hispanics. Typically, roughly 30 to 40 Hispanic families a month apply. The numbers dropped to 10 in May and only one in June.

Sutton questions why. Osborne said she doesn't know.
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