Immigrants Benefits Continue

Efforts to restore aid to legal immigrants cut in 1996 have polarized members of Congress despite political benefits

Republicans are sending an update of welfare law to the House floor that promises a modest increase in federal child care funding, a small olive branch to Democrats opposed to increasing poor parents' work hours without such additional help.

Senate Democrats, at the same time, are moving toward common ground with the House COP by signaling their support for some increased work requirements.

But as the 107th Congress continues to debate altering the six-year-old welfare statute (PL 104-193) -- the core of which expires Sept. 30 -- the issue of restoring welfare benefits for legal immigrants remains the greatest source of polarization between the majorities on the two sides of the Capitol.

The pressure to revive those benefits comes from state officials, influential senators and Hispanic voters, a bloc that is being intensely courted for the midterm election. But it has not been enough to budge House conservatives. They say the current law discourages welfare dependency among immigrants and ensures that new arrivals' spo

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The opposing view is that safety net benefits should go to legal immigrants regardless of when they entered, that states should not be compelled to pitch in where the federal government does not, and that the majority of children in immigrant families are citizens by birth.

"One of the meanest features of the House bill that we couldn't get rid of in '96 was the way that legal immigrants, people who are working and paying taxes, were treated," said Sen.

"Make no mistake about it, we will remember who helps us and who doesn't," said Manuel Mirabal, president of the National Puerto Rican Coalition, one of the groups seeking to lessen the law's restrictions on legal immigrants.

Since 1996, Congress has restored various benefits, mainly to children, abused women, older people and the disabled. Republicans originally called for freezing child care funds at $4. 4

2000

Native born 26. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Currently 23 of the 50 states use their own budgets to make up for the federal welfare cash assistance they cannot give legal immigrants.

In so doing, the GOP signaled it was softening on the question of subsidies for babysitters for working-poor parents. "That is what I believe we can appeal to people on.

The Senate positioning came as the two main House committees with jurisdiction over welfare approved their versions of reauthorization legislation May 2.

Democrats say Bush is politically wrong, and hypocritical, to push only for the restoration of food stamps. Senate Democrats outlined their plans for legislation but held off on actually introducing anything.

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