The Congress makes the following statements concerning national policy with respect to welfare and immigration:
(1) Self-sufficiency has been a basic principle of United States immigration law since this country’s earliest immigration statutes.
(2) It continues to be the immigration policy of the United States that—
(A) aliens within the Nation’s borders not depend on public resources to meet their needs, but rather rely on their own capabilities and the resources of their families, their sponsors, and private organizations, and
(B) the availability of public benefits not constitute an incentive for immigration to the United States.
(3) Despite the principle of self-sufficiency, aliens have been applying for and receiving public benefits from Federal, State, and local governments at increasing rates.
(4) Current eligibility rules for public assistance and unenforceable financial support agreements have proved wholly incapable of assuring that individual aliens not burden the public benefits system.
(5) It is a compelling government interest to enact new rules for eligibility and sponsorship agreements in order to assure that aliens be self-reliant in accordance with national immigration policy.
(6) It is a compelling government interest to remove the incentive for illegal immigration provided by the availability of public benefits.
(7) With respect to the State authority to make determinations concerning the eligibility of qualified aliens for public benefits in this chapter, a State that chooses to follow the Federal classification in determining the eligibility of such aliens for public assistance shall be considered to have chosen the least restrictive means available for achieving the compelling governmental interest of assuring that aliens be self-reli
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Stable record: federal_law:legal_authorities:record_usc_b0409c3ae11abc4e2a1df733 Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-8/section-1611-statements-of-national-policy-concerning-welfare-and-immigration--3cb80f44e1.md Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded Passage SHA-256: bda763f644d7b90953658ae29fa54beaaf4891e22a955abc1eb7fc340077a5b8 Retained source evidence SHA-256: 7274fecb21e040f03403f64072044c150094383c93f8787dde6b202e8c467883
Source location: Title 8, Chapter 14, § 1611; chapter-014-restricting-welfare-and-public-benefits-for-aliens.md
Stored source content
The Congress makes the following statements concerning national policy with respect to welfare and immigration:
(1) Self-sufficiency has been a basic principle of United States immigration law since this country’s earliest immigration statutes.
(2) It continues to be the immigration policy of the United States that—
(A) aliens within the Nation’s borders not depend on public resources to meet their needs, but rather rely on their own capabilities and the resources of their families, their sponsors, and private organizations, and
(B) the availability of public benefits not constitute an incentive for immigration to the United States.
(3) Despite the principle of self-sufficiency, aliens have been applying for and receiving public benefits from Federal, State, and local governments at increasing rates.
(4) Current eligibility rules for public assistance and unenforceable financial support agreements have proved wholly incapable of assuring that individual aliens not burden the public benefits system.
(5) It is a compelling government interest to enact new rules for eligibility and sponsorship agreements in order to assure that aliens be self-reliant in accordance with national immigration policy.
(6) It is a compelling government interest to remove the incentive for illegal immigration provided by the availability of public benefits.
(7) With respect to the State authority to make determinations concerning the eligibility of qualified aliens for public benefits in this chapter, a State that chooses to follow the Federal classification in determining the eligibility of such aliens for public assistance shall be considered to have chosen the least restrictive means available for achieving the compelling governmental interest of assuring that aliens be self-reliant in accordance with national immigration policy.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
§ 1611. Aliens who are not qualified aliens ineli-
gible for Federal public benefits
(a) In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of law
and except as provided in subsection (b), an
alien who is not a qualified alien (as defined in
section 1641 of this title) is not eligible for any
Federal public benefit (as defined in subsection
(c)).
(b) Exceptions
(1) Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect
to the following Federal public benefits:
(A) Medical assistance under title XIX of the
Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.] (or
any successor program to such title) for care
and services that are necessary for the treat-
ment of an emergency medical condition (as
defined in section 1903(v)(3) of such Act [42
U.S.C. 1396b(v)(3)]) of the alien involved and
are not related to an organ transplant proce-
dure, if the alien involved otherwise meets the
eligibility requirements for medical assistance
under the State plan approved under such title
(other than the requirement of the receipt of
aid or assistance under title IV of such Act [42
U.S.C. 601 et seq.], supplemental security in-
come benefits under title XVI of such Act [42
U.S.C. 1381 et seq.], or a State supplementary
payment).
(B) Short-term, non-cash, in-kind emergency
disaster relief.
(C) Public health assistance (not including
any assistance under title XIX of the Social
Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.]) for immu-
nizations with respect to immunizable dis-
eases and for testing and treatment of symp-
toms of communicable diseases whether or not
such symptoms are caused by a communicable
disease.
(D) Programs, services, or assistance (such
as soup kitchens, crisis counseling and inter-
vention, and short-term shelter) specified by
the Attorney General, in the Attorne