Last August, President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, denying federal public benefits to millions of people living in poverty. Not only does the law dismantle a 61-year-old guarantee of federal assistance through the Aid to Families with dependent Children (AFDC) Program, but it also severely restricts a wide range of benefits and services for immigrants. With the devolution of a federal commitment to assist poor people, much of this responsibility will now fall to local governmental agencies and non-profit organizations.

Although immigrants use public benefits at rates comparable to U.S. citizens(about five percent), cuts to immigrant communities account for 44% of estimated federal savings in the new welfare law. The immigrant provisions of this law will drain $23.7 billion dollars in federal funding from states over asix-year period. According to the Urban Institute, of the 1.1 million children predicted to fall into poverty from the new law, 450,000 will be harmed by the immigrant provisions.

In the era of "devolution," each state must make decisions regarding how to implement the new welfare reform provisions. Local advocates need to be vigilant about encouraging their state leaders to adopt the most generous interpretations possible. In addition, advocates and activists are encouraged to hold President Clinton accountable to his promise to ease the harsh provisions in the welfare law.

The situation in California illustrates the devastating impact of these cuts on immigrant communities. Almost half of the immigrant population losing their supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits live in California. Throughout the state, this means that over 200,000 senior and disabled immigrants will lose their SSI, and almost 400,000 will no longer have access to Food Stamps. Thestate will lose over nine billion dollars in federal funding over the next six years--and the most vulnerable and needy, including the blind, the disabled,and the working poor, will be severely impacted. Hunger, homelessness,discrimination, and fear will escalate in immigrant communities.

Encouraging politicians to continue to ensure services at the state level has already proved challenging. California advocates must face Governor Pete Wilson's extreme anti-immigrant agenda, as well as his vicious rhetoric which portrays welfare recipients as shiftless "couch potatoes" whose promiscuity and immorality should not be "rewarded" by welfare checks. Advocates and immigrants are visiting the state capital to encourage lawmakers to (a) provide state benefits for immigrants and refugees who will lose SSI and federal assistance(b) ensure a state safety net for immigrants who arrived after August 22, 1996(the cut-off date for eligibility for some programs), and (c) establish a state-funded nutrition program to offer assistance to immigrants. In addition,lawmakers have been asked to guarantee continued access to prenatal care,regardless of immigration status. Other proposals encourage the state to invest in naturalization activities, assist immigrants in learning about exemptions to cuts in federal benefits, and develop policies to prevent discrimination and ensure that no one is deterred from seeking or obtaining services due to misinformation or fear.

Many of the welfare reform provisions are already in effect, and are generating confusion and fear in immigrant communities across the nation. New immigrant applicants are denied SSI and food stamps; by August, an estimated 500,000elderly and disabled immigrants will lose their SSI. It is imperative that we act now to encourage states to ensure that at least some part of the safety net is preserved.

The Center for Immigrants Rights in New York has compiled an informative ten-page question and answer packet entitled "Immigrants and Eligibility for public Benefits"; the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights issues periodic fact sheets on welfare reform and changing legislation, including suggested principles for state implementation. Contact the NNIRR office for these materials.

Angie Wei is Public Policy Director at the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights. Sasha Khokha is NNIRR's Communications Coordinator.