Immigrants refuse food stamps for fear of deportation

Фото: Depositphotos

Immigrants who previously received food stamps in the United States began to refuse them after Donald Trump’s inauguration, fearing that this could be an additional reason for their deportation, and would also make it easier for immigration and customs officials to search for them.

This was told by the staff of food centers and lawyers, reports The Washington Post.

According to the employees of the issuance of coupons, many call them and ask about the possible consequences of using the coupons for immigrants, many simply refuse the program and try to find an additional, for someone already third job, to cover the losses from the loss of coupons.

Even green card holders are afraid - they are afraid that the use of coupons may become a reason that will prevent them from obtaining citizenship in the future.

Journalists were unable to contact the immigrants themselves to hear their views on this issue.

According to the Department of Agriculture, in 2015, 1,5, a million non-US citizens, received food coupons, and 3,9 received a million million citizens living with their non-US citizenship coupons. The rules for receiving state aid are strict, and immigrants tend to use food benefits at a much lower rate than Americans. Research has shown that families of illegal immigrants often suffer from malnutrition.

For legal immigrants who entered the country after August 1996 of the year, the right to participate in the coupon program is determined depending on their age and time of stay in the United States. Adults are eligible to participate in the program after having lived in the US for at least 5 years, or if they are refugees or disabled. Children who have fallen into the United States legally receive the right to assistance from the state much faster.

Illegal immigrants are not eligible to receive food stamps, although they may live in a family with “mixed immigration status”, one of whose members can receive coupons. For example, illegal parents can get coupons for their citizens.

Recently, legal immigrants began to fear that the use of coupons could create problems for them. Such fear among visitors was always, but they have repeatedly intensified after the inauguration of Trump.

Legal immigrants fear that receiving coupons could negatively affect them during the process of obtaining citizenship. Illegals applying on behalf of their children are increasingly afraid of any contact and cooperation with government bodies.

At the same time, lawyers cannot give exact figures, but claim that the refusal to participate in the program for the first 2 of the month 2017 of the year increased almost 2 times as compared to the same period of the 2016 of the year.

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