Thread: WA: Judge orders state to continue food benefits for immigra

Judge orders state to continue food benefits for immigrants

By VANESSA HO
SEATTLEPI.COM
February 1, 2011

A federal judge has temporarily stopped Washington from eliminating food benefits for thousands of legal immigrants, after the state was planning to whack the program to save $7.2 million.

The cut had been scheduled to take effect Tuesday.

The Department of Social and Health Services had planned the cut to help balance the current dismal state budget. By dropping the program, the state was also expecting to save an additional $45 million in the next budget cycle, which faces a massive $4.6 billion deficit.

DSHS's plan called for eliminating state food aid to 14,000 poor, legal immigrants who don't qualify for federal food stamps, mostly because they haven't lived in the country long enough. The move prompted Columbia Legal Services to file a federal, class-action lawsuit last month, alleging the cut is unconstitutional.

Last week, U.S. District Court Marsha Pechman imposed a temporary restraining order against the state. In a ruling issued Friday, Pechman wrote that the food program provides legal immigrants a vital resource, which, if eliminated, would create an "irreparable harm."

"While the public's interest is served by conserving the resources of the state, the need to the Plaintiff and class members is extreme and substantial. Plaintiff's and class's suffering 'is far more compelling than the possibility of some administrative inconvenience, or monetary loss to the government,' " Pechman wrote, citing a previous court case.

The plaintiff in the case is a low-income King County mother of three kids, whose household receives $306 in state food aid, on top of federal help. Although the woman lives in the country legally, she doesn't qualify for federal food aid, because she has lived here for less than five years.

Columbia Legal said the elimination of food aid for legal immigrants - while providing similar benefits to U.S. citizens and some non-citizens - violated the "Equal Protection Clause" in the U.S. Constitution.

"...(The) state of Washington is discriminating against them because of their status as aliens for the sole purpose of saving money," the law group said in its brief filed last month.

Columbia Legal also said the state's notices - which told people of benefit cuts - were "constitutionally inadequate." Attorneys said the notices included no explanation of how someone's legal status was determined, nor a calculation of income and financial eligibility.

Washington extended its food benefits to certain legal immigrants in 1997, after Congress, under welfare reform, severely restricted the eligibility of immigrants to get federal food stamps. Among other restrictions, federal lawmakers had decided that immigrants needd to live in the country for at least five years to be eligible for help.

No hearing has been scheduled for arguments on a potential preliminary injunction, the next legal step in the case.

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The jufge can't raise taxes, what if the state simply said er don't have the money ?

Americans are not responsible for supporting and feeding persons who arrives to this Country illegally. So why are they being made to do so?

then the state should collapse ... I am not paying taxes for flaky states to get money to pay for the Illegal Alien money Scam ~a~ Rama

Wash. State your on your own; Activast judges have you state by the neck and its not going to let go