State benefit programs for undocumented immigrants draw fire
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State benefit programs for undocumented immigrants draw fire
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
By KATHIE DURBIN , Columbian staff writer Advertisement
The national immigration debate has muscled its way onto Washington's political agenda. The issue: whether state taxpayers should subsidize benefits for undocumented workers.
Over the weekend, backers of an initiative to deny a range of state benefits to illegal immigrants began circulating petitions after a court approved the measure's ballot title.
Alaska Airlines pilot Robert Baker of Mercer Island, the prime sponsor of Initiative 946, says he's confident volunteers can collect 250,000 signatures more than enough to qualify the measure for the November ballot by the July 7 deadline.
"It's getting such national attention, particularly today," Baker said Monday, as immigrants and their supporters staged May Day rallies in Vancouver, Portland and cities and towns across the nation. "We are getting floods of e-mails saying, 'Where can I get petitions?'" About 15 volunteers are gathering signatures statewide, with a focus on Spokane, Walla Walla, Yakima and Aberdeen.
Meanwhile, Speakers Roundtable, a Republican political action committee, has launched a new round of automated phone calls aimed at Democratic House members in swing districts who voted for state programs that benefit undocumented workers.
Rep. Deb Wallace, D-Vancouver, heard from several constituents Friday after they received calls accusing her of supporting health insurance for immigrant children while voting to deny health coverage to children who are citizens.
Wallace said she did not know what votes the calls referred to, but she does support Gov. Chris Gregoire's program to provide all children including the children of immigrants with health insurance by the year 2010. "In the state of Washington, we cannot let any child be sick and not be seen," she said. "That is a humane position."
Speakers Roundtable, which is closely affiliated with the House Republican Caucus, has targeted Wallace's 17th District constituents this year with a series of automated phone calls on issues from sex predator legislation to the Democrats' budget. Director Kevin Carns confirmed that his political committee commissioned the calls but was not available for further comment.
Wallace said it's up to Congress, not the Legislature, to resolve the immigration issue. She characterized the calls as "ugly political manipulation."
"It's taking the issue of the day, immigration, but it isn't really about that," Wallace said. "It's 'Let's find an inflammatory issue and let's make it political.'"
Services at risk
Initiative 946 would require both state and local government employees to verify the identity and immigration status of every applicant who applies for a public benefit that is not federally mandated.
Baker said the measure would not affect federally mandated services to those living in this country illegally, including K-12 education, emergency medical care and the cost of incarceration in state prisons. The federal Alien Emergency Medical Program, for example, would not be affected. It covers emergency medical services for low-income illegal aliens. Last year, it cost Washington $110 million in state and federal funds.
State and federal law prohibit providing undocumented aliens with ongoing food or cash assistance. However, aliens are eligible for a range of social and health services, including Washington's Children's Health Program, new this year, which provides health care coverage to immigrant children in poor families who are not eligible for Medicaid.
The program, a budget priority for Gov. Chris Gregoire, serves 4,200 children at a cost of $3.6 million this year. But at Gregoire's request, the 2006 Legislature expanded it to serve 14,200 children by Oct. 1, at a cost of nearly $11 million.
Initiative 946 would require state and local employees to verify the citizenship and residency status of anyone who applies for benefits covered by the law. Only ID cards issued by agencies that have verified the applicant's immigration status would be accepted.
Required to verify status
States are under pressure from the federal government to turn their driver's licenses into such national identification cards. But many states, including Washington, are resisting.
Public employees would be required to report immigration violations. Failure to report those violations would be a misdemeanor.
Asking public employees who administer social service programs to verify citizenship status would be a burden, especially when government money is used to serve the homeless and operate food banks, said Mike Piper, director of the Clark County Department of Community Services.
"For example, Share House has a multitude of funding sources from government and the nonprofit sector," Piper said. "For them to have to determine what someone's residency is in the middle of the night when they are in crisis is not practical and it's not conscionable. A lot of people in crisis don't have ID or any means of identifying themselves."
State programs that may assist undocumented aliens
Pregnant Women's Program: Provides medical services for pregnant women with incomes less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level, and family planning for 10 months following delivery. Prenatal care is matched with 65 percent federal funds. Cost in 2005: $15.4 million.
Children's Health Program: Provides health coverage starting Jan. 1 this year to noncitizen children younger than 18 who live in households with incomes at or below the federal poverty level and are not eligible for other medical assistance programs due to their alien status. Caseload budgeted at 4,300 at a cost of $3.6 million through June 30, and at 14,200 by Oct. 1 at a cost of nearly $11 million.
Alien Emergency Medical Program: A mandatory federally funded program that covers emergency medical services for aliens who meet all Medicaid program requirements except immigration status. Covers low-income families, children, and adults who are aged, blind, or disabled. Cost in 2005: $110 million.
Consolidated Emergency Assistance Program: Provides state funds to pregnant women and families with children for food, shelter, clothing and medical care. Aid is available once in a 12-month period and recipients must be ineligible for other state or federally funded benefits. Cost in 2005: $152,920.
Seasonal Child Care Program: Child care for low-income families working as seasonal laborers directly related to the cultivation, production or processing of crops or trees. Cost in 2005: $8.74 million.
Homeless Child Care Program: Short-term child care to support a parent's efforts to find work, secure housing, get treatment for health care or substance abuse or obtain legal assistance. To qualify, a family must be homeless or in temporary or transitional housing and be unable to qualify for other subsidized child care programs. Cost in 2005: $690,000.
Working Connections Child Care: Child care for families with monthly income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Federal regulations require that a child must be a U.S. citizen or legally residing in the United States to be eligible, but the citizenship/residency requirement does not apply to the child's parents. Cost in 2005: $250.2 million.
Source: Washington Department of Social and Health Services
Re: State benefit programs for undocumented immigrants draw
Quote:
Wallace said she did not know what votes the calls referred to, but she does support Gov. Chris Gregoire's program to provide all children including the children of immigrants with health insurance by the year 2010. "In the state of Washington, we cannot let any child be sick and not be seen," she said. "That is a humane position."
That is a stupid position...Wallace. If you want to be "humane", then dig in your own pocket.
If you think the American People are going to allow illegal immigrants or their children to remain in the United States by 2010, then you have lost your friggin' mind.
:roll:
