Immigrants' Eligibility for Benefits

The laws, policies and procedures governing immigrants’ eligibility for public benefit and housing programs are complicated, in part because they are specific to each benefit program. Eligibility rules are based on the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, which severely limited immigrants’ eligibility for public benefits. Other laws which impacted immigrants’ eligibility include the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1996, the Federal Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the 1998 Agriculture Research Extension and Education Reform Act, Noncitizen Benefit Clarification and Other Technical Amendments Act of 1998, the Food Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2002, and the SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act. In addition, court cases, such as Aliessa v. Novello in NYS, which effectively expanded Medicaid eligibility to all lawfully residing immigrants, have also impacted immigrants’ eligibility for public benefit and housing programs.

The rules regarding which immigrants are eligible for the various public benefit and housing programs vary. Each program has different regulations regarding eligibility. In federal public benefit programs, eligibility is predicated on whether an immigrant is a “qualified alien”, as well as other factors (depending on the particular program) such as when the immigrant entered the U.S., whether the immigrant adjusted status, the age or disability status of the immigrant, and whether the immigrant can be credited with a sufficient work history under the Social Security system.

PRWORA categorized certain groups of legal immigrants as “qualified aliens”, see below Immigration Statuses) and eligibility for federal government benefit programs is linked to whether the immigrant is a “qualified alien”, as well as other qualifying factors.

Certain state and local benefit programs are available to immigrants who are not “qualified aliens”. New York State considers individuals who do not have “qualified alien” status but who are “permanently residing under color of law” (PRUCOL), eligible for state and locally funded benefits.