Those without legal status can still gain access to public benefits

From Adam EchelmanCalmness

This story was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

California cuisine for soups, homeless and pre -school schools can continue to serve those without law, at least temporarily, according to a decision today by a US District Court in Rod Island.

In July, four federal departments – education, justice, health and human services and work – directed California to refuse many immigrants access to funded by federal public services, including health care, education and training for work. New policies apply to certain classes of immigrants, including those without legal status, as well as to those who have it, as asylum seekers or those with student visas.

California quickly joined 20 other states and Colombia County through caseArguing that changes in politics are illegal. The decision today, which is a preliminary order, means that the Federal Government cannot implement new policies in these countries until the court case is resolved, which may take months or years to resolve.

In the hearing last month, Jessica Ranuchi, a lawyer of the State Prosecutor General of New York, said new policies mean that all programs funded by federal funds may be needed to check immigration status before providing assistance. The affected programs include hot suicide lines, mental health services, homeless shelters, soup kitchen, domestic violence and services to prevent child abuse. Adult schools that offer many classes in English and the free initial start of the pre -school program will also be needed to refuse the entry of certain students. New policies can exclude “millions of people” from “life -saving services”, Ranuchi said, including US citizens who are homeless or fled from domestic violence, but lack the right documentation.

A lawyer at the Ministry of Justice Sean Skwselevski said that new policies reflect the proper interpretation of the federal law and that government programs should be able to easily verify the legal status.

US District Judge Mary Maclerooy disagreed and repeatedly questioned Skydzilewski at the hearing about the practicality of verifying the legal status of each participant. “How is this not a giant non -financied federal term for countries?” she asked, citing the weight she would put on service providers. “What do we do with someone who has a mental health crisis and may not even know their own name?”

The four federal departments said in July that new policies are efforts to implement one of Trump Enforcement ordersWho claims that the public benefits from the power of “illegal immigration”. The enforcement order asks the federal departments to ensure that “no benefits funded by taxpayers go to unskilled aliens.”

Who meets the requirements for public benefits?

In 1996, Congress passed a law limiting most federal funded public benefits for US citizens or those with certain legal statues, such as a green card. Later, when he clarified the law, the federal government took out some exceptions.

Any person, regardless of their legitimate status, may gain access to a crisis call center and any neglected or abused child can obtain public assistance as these services are “needed to protect life and safety” according to Federal Guidelines since 1996which clarifies the importance of the law for this year. Shelters for homeless and domestic violence, public hospitals and programs that maintain mental health or restore the use of substances are also available to all.

As a result of 1982 Supreme Court’s decisionThe federal government allows all students under 18, regardless of legal status, to attend a public school. Immigrants without legal status can also have access to a major start and enroll in adult education classes that include English as a second language and high school equivalence programs.

In Santa Clara County, which covers San Jose, approximately 40% of residents are born abroad and more than half of all children in the county have a parent abroad. The county receives about $ 3.7 billion in federal funding each year, most of which support her public hospital, according to a court declaration by Greta Hanson, Chief Operating Officer of the County.

Checking the legal status of patients is not feasible, she said, but even if it would, “it would have an extremely pernicious impact and deter people to seek a lot of care.” If a person has a contagious disease but avoids looking for care, for example, he or she could endanger the health of his entire community.

Although the new policies came into force in July, the health system has not yet rejected patients. Countries in the court case and the four federal departments have reached an agreement that they will delay the implementation of new policies by September 11. Due to today’s preliminary order, it will now take months or years before the policies are accepted and if the judge ultimately makes rules in favor of California, the policies may never come into force.

This is just one of the many court cases that California has filed against the Trump administration regarding the treatment of immigrants. In an attempt to apply a different executive order from the president who asked the federal departments to stop. “waste, fraud and abuse“The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has asked California to share personal information about people who receive food brands.

In July, General Democratic Lawyers, including California General Prosecutor Rob Bont, filed a lawsuit against the USDA, saying it was an attempt In order to target families with mixed statusWhere US citizens can have a relative who is not a citizen. California has also judged the Trump administration because of its Deployment of the National Guard Following federal immigration raids, they led to protests in Los Angeles this summer.

All said, California is judging or joined by other states in the federal government judge approximately 40 times As the president’s inauguration. During the first Trump administration, California filed a lawsuit against the president 123 times and won about two -thirds of these casesS

Many of the establishments brought this year have already led to preliminary orders, temporarily stopping the new Trump administration policies, but immigrants’ defenders say the president’s actions have still influenced.

Many Californians, including legal status, deviate from public services out of fear. Some are They are afraid to leave their house In general.

At the Huntington Elderly School, director Steve Couriel said few immigrants show up for English hours this summer. He said he had heard that other schools in the whole country see the same trend.

Education reporter Carolyn Jones contributed to this story

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.