http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/dulut ... 573013.htm

Posted on Sat, May. 13, 2006

Bill: Proof of citizenship needed for public services

TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. - Illegal immigrants in Wisconsin would be cut off from state prescription drug discounts, the state's health insurance program for the working poor and Social Security benefits under a bill sitting on Gov. Jim Doyle's desk.

Under the Republican-authored measure, only U.S. citizens or lawful immigrants would be eligible for public benefits from the state Health and Family Services and Workforce Development departments. Applicants would have to show proof of citizenship or legal immigration status. State workers would have to certify the documents' authenticity or face fines.

Sen. Tom Reynolds, R-West Allis, the bill's author, said his constituents have told him in listening sessions they want a measure like this one.

He's convinced illegal immigrants are flocking to Wisconsin because it's easy to cheat the system. For too many years government has closed its eyes to growing immigration problems, he said. Now it's hard to ignore, he said.

Just in the last few weeks, thousands of Latinos have taken to the streets in major cities around the country to demand amnesty for illegal immigrants, saying they're a crucial cog in the nation's economy.

"It's gotten to the point that people see with their eyes a little bit more that their country is changing around them," Reynolds said. "Wisconsin is a magnet for illegal immigrants because of our lax process of not checking into whether people are illegals."

His measure represents another attempt by Republicans who control the state Legislature to stiffen Wisconsin's immigration laws.

The governor in March signed a GOP bill that requires Wisconsin driver's license applicants to provide proof of citizenship. Earlier this month, Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, introduced a bill that would have ensured county benefits workers are allowed to ask applicants about their immigration status. That bill came in response to a Dane County ordinance that prevents benefits workers from asking about applicants' citizenship, but the measure fell short of passage.

"It seems to be one after the other, one after the other as if they don't have anything else to worry about. They're looking at the immigrant community as the scapegoat for everything these days," said Alfonso Zepeda-Capistran, former president of Latinos United for Change and Advancement, a Madison-based nonprofit organization that works to improve the quality of Hispanics' lives.

A dozen groups have reported lobbying on Reynolds' bill, according to the state Ethics Board. All but one are against it. The only exception - Milwaukee County - doesn't have a position.

Opponents say the bill would hurt poor illegal immigrants who need help the most. The measure also would drive up administrative costs and block benefits for U.S. citizens who don't have birth certificates or other documents, they say.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, director of the immigrant advocacy group Voces de la Frontera in Milwaukee, said Reynolds is exaggerating the number of illegal applicants.

She pointed to a state audit of 200 randomly selected 2002 Medical Assistance cases that found no applicant with questionable citizenship was approved. The audit also examined 101 denials, turning up eight instances where an applicant couldn't get benefits because of questionable citizenship.

"It's hate-mongering," she said of the bill. "You're talking about disenfranchising ... people in the state of Wisconsin from some of the most basic social safety nets."

Federal law already requires proof of citizenship for Wisconsin's welfare-to-work program, or W-2, Medicaid and food stamps. Under current state law, benefits workers ask applicants for other programs if they're in the country legally. If the applicant answers yes, the workers don't have to verify the statement.

Reynolds' bill would expand the citizenship requirement for any program administered by the state Health and Family Services and Workforce Development departments, including BadgerCare, the state's health insurance program for the poor; SeniorCare, the state's enormously popular prescription drug discount program for seniors; eligibility for state grants counties use to cover people's health care costs; and state supplemental payments to federal Social Security.

Each agency would be able to define acceptable documentation. Intake workers who don't verify those documents would face a $250 fine.

"It is supposedly illegal for benefits to go to illegal immigrants. But the process is so open and easy to neglect that. This just tightens it up," Reynolds said.

Charity Eleson, executive director of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, said the bill could freeze out elderly and disabled U.S. citizens who don't have easy access to birth certificates or other documents.

"Not too many of us carry our birth certificates around with us all the time," Eleson said. "It's a big blunt instrument that is not necessary."

Reynolds scoffed at that.

"Who doesn't have documentation that they have been in the country legally forever?" he said. "They make up just this rhetoric, which is nonsense."

Doyle, a Democrat, can either sign the bill into law or veto it. It's unclear which way the governor is leaning. Spokesman Matt Canter said Doyle is still reviewing the legislation.

In a March letter to the Wisconsin Migrant Coalition, the governor said he had to sign the driver's license bill to comply with federal mandates. He went on to say he opposes Reynolds' bill, calling it "an insult to our immigrant community" that would prevent innocent children from getting basic help.

Zepeda-Capistran hopes Doyle puts his money where his mouth is.

"Saying he opposes it is not enough in my book," he said.

ON THE NET

Wisconsin Legislature: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/