IMMIGRATION AND THE INTERNET: WELFARE RIGHTS FOR IMMIGRANTS As we have reported in several newsletter issues over the last year and a half, the rules by which immigrants, both legal and illegal, may receive welfare benefits have been altered dramatically. The changes can be confusing and how one is affected may vary dramatically based on a variety of factors, including where one is located in the countries.
This month, we are pleased to let readers now about two new sites that provide substantial information on this subject.
The Health Policy Tracking Service has a web site that covers a variety of public health issues and has a superb section entitled "Welfare Reform and Immigrants." The address of the site is http://www.StateServ.hpts.org. The site's mission statement reads as follows:
"The Immigrant Policy Project of the State and Local Coalition on Immigration is identifying, analyzing, monitoring, and reporting on state legislation and policies introduced and enacted in 1997 that relate to state implementation of the 1996 welfare reform's immigrant provisions. Through NCSL's Health Policy Tracking Service, the Immigrant Policy Project has bills and laws from all 50 states and is acquiring laws from Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Information on state legislation and policies is presented in three databases: Legislation to Watch, Issue Briefs, and other State Information. The Project is currently tracking legislation and policies in five topic areas: Health Benefits, Naturalization, Nutrition, Public Assistance, and Official English."
The "Issues to Watch" database provides summaries and the status history of bills introduced during the 1997 state legislative sessions affecting immigrants and welfare.
The "Issue Briefs database provides access to articles that "summarize and analyze state decisions in the wake of federal welfare reform that affect immigrants. The briefs provide an overview of state trends in welfare reform and also look at states' decisions regarding particular programs or types of assistance."
The site also contains assorted other information on the legislative processes in the various states.
The other online resource of note on welfare reform and immigrants that might be worth a look is the US Federal Register offers guidelines for verifying the eligibilty of immigrants to receive public benefits. The address for the Federal Register is http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html. Once there call up the November 17, 1997 issue and go to page 61344. The document is about seventy pages long.
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