A story in the October 19th issue of the Boston Globe reports that petitioners of immigrants are being asked to pay back public aid before being permitted to sponsor family members for immigration. The Globe reports that hundreds of Miami residents have been asked to repay government benefits even though there is nothing in the law that requires this. Haitians have been the main targets of such requests, leading some immigration advocates to complain that the practice is discriminatory.
Government officials respond by saying that rather than requiring repayment, they are merely giving petitioners the “opportunity to take mitigating actions to absolve their application of negative factors such as previous use of Medicaid or other social service benefits.”
The State Department public charge lookout system is being used to track candidates deemed likely to fail to adequately support sponsored aliens. The Department denies instructing persons to pay back debts though they have stated that repayment of such debts could be a basis for reconsidering a negative decision.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. The information provided in this article has not been updated since its original posting and you should not rely on it until you consult counsel to determine if the content is still valid. We keep older articles online because it helps in the understanding of the development of immigration law.