8 U.S.C. § 1611 | Aliens who are not qualified aliens ineligible for Federal public benefits

(a)

In general

section 1641 of this titleNotwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in subsection (b), an alien who is not a qualified alien (as defined in ) 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)

42 U.S.C. 1396 42 U.S.C. 1396b(v)(3)42 U.S.C. 601 42 U.S.C. 1381 Medical assistance under title XIX of the Social Security Act [ et seq.] (or any successor program to such title) for care and services that are necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition (as defined in section 1903(v)(3) of such Act []) of the alien involved and are not related to an organ transplant procedure, 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 [ et seq.], supplemental security income benefits under title XVI of such Act [ et seq.], or a State supplementary payment).

(B)

Short-term, non-cash, in-kind emergency disaster relief.

(C)

42 U.S.C. 1396 Public health assistance (not including any assistance under title XIX of the Social Security Act [ et seq.]) for immunizations with respect to immunizable diseases and for testing and treatment of symptoms 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 intervention, and short-term shelter) specified by the Attorney General, in the Attorney General’s sole and unreviewable discretion after consultation with appropriate Federal agencies and departments, which (i) deliver in-kind services at the community level, including through public or private nonprofit agencies; (ii) do not condition the provision of assistance, the amount of assistance provided, or the cost of assistance provided on the individual recipient’s income or resources; and (iii) are necessary for the protection of life or safety.

(E)

42 U.S.C. 1471 section 1926c of title 7August 22, 1996 Programs for housing or community development assistance or financial assistance administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, any program under title V of the Housing Act of 1949 [ et seq.], or any assistance under , to the extent that the alien is receiving such a benefit on .

(2)

42 U.S.C. 401 42 U.S.C. 433 42 U.S.C. 402(t) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any benefit payable under title II of the Social Security Act [ et seq.] to an alien who is lawfully present in the United States as determined by the Attorney General, to any benefit if nonpayment of such benefit would contravene an international agreement described in section 233 of the Social Security Act [], to any benefit if nonpayment would be contrary to section 202(t) of the Social Security Act [], or to any benefit payable under title II of the Social Security Act to which entitlement is based on an application filed in or before August 1996.

(3)

42 U.S.C. 1395 42 U.S.C. 1395c Subsection (a) shall not apply to any benefit payable under title XVIII of the Social Security Act [ et seq.] (relating to the medicare program) to an alien who is lawfully present in the United States as determined by the Attorney General and, with respect to benefits payable under part A of such title [ et seq.], who was authorized to be employed with respect to any wages attributable to employment which are counted for purposes of eligibility for such benefits.

(4)

45 U.S.C. 231 45 U.S.C. 351 Subsection (a) shall not apply to any benefit payable under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 [ et seq.] or the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act [ et seq.] to an alien who is lawfully present in the United States as determined by the Attorney General or to an alien residing outside the United States.

(5)

section 1612(a)(3)(A) of this titleAugust 22, 1996 Subsection (a) shall not apply to eligibility for benefits for the program defined in (relating to the supplemental security income program), or to eligibility for benefits under any other program that is based on eligibility for benefits under the program so defined, for an alien who was receiving such benefits on .

(c)

“Federal public benefit” defined

(1)

Except as provided in paragraph (2), for purposes of this chapter the term “Federal public benefit” means—

(A)

any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or commercial license provided by an agency of the United States or by appropriated funds of the United States; and

(B)

any retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or assisted housing, postsecondary education, food assistance, unemployment benefit, or any other similar benefit for which payments or assistance are provided to an individual, household, or family eligibility unit by an agency of the United States or by appropriated funds of the United States.

(2)

Such term shall not apply—

(A)

Public Law 99–239 to any contract, professional license, or commercial license for a nonimmigrant whose visa for entry is related to such employment in the United States, or to a citizen of a freely associated state, if section 141 of the applicable compact of free association approved in or 99–658 (or a successor provision) is in effect;

(B)

8 U.S.C. 1101 with respect to benefits for an alien who as a work authorized nonimmigrant or as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act [ et seq.] qualified for such benefits and for whom the United States under reciprocal treaty agreements is required to pay benefits, as determined by the Attorney General, after consultation with the Secretary of State; or

(C)

to the issuance of a professional license to, or the renewal of a professional license by, a foreign national not physically present in the United States.

Pub. L. 104–193, title IV, § 401Aug. 22, 1996110 Stat. 2261 Pub. L. 105–33, title VAug. 5, 1997111 Stat. 638 Pub. L. 105–306Oct. 28, 1998112 Stat. 2926(, , ; , §§ 5561, 5565, , , 639; , §§ 2, 5(a), , , 2927.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531 49 Stat. 620 section 1305 of Title 42The Social Security Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is , . Titles II, IV, XVI, XVIII, and XIX of the Act are classified generally to subchapters II (§ 401 et seq.), IV (§ 601 et seq.), XVI (§ 1381 et seq.), XVIII (§ 1395 et seq.), and XIX (§ 1396 et seq.), respectively, of chapter 7 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. Part A of title XVIII of the Act is classified generally to part A (§ 1395c et seq.) of subchapter XVIII of chapter 7 of Title 42. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see and Tables.

act July 15, 1949, ch. 338 63 Stat. 413 section 1441 of Title 42The Housing Act of 1949, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(E), is , . Title V of the Act is classified generally to subchapter III (§ 1471 et seq.) of chapter 8A of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under and Tables.

act Aug. 29, 1935, ch. 812 Pub. L. 93–445, title I, § 101Oct. 16, 197488 Stat. 1305 section 231 of Title 45 section 231t of Title 45The Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, referred to in subsec. (b)(4), is , as amended generally by , , , which is classified generally to subchapter IV (§ 231 et seq.) of chapter 9 of Title 45, Railroads. For further details and complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Codification note set out preceding , , and Tables.

act June 25, 1938, ch. 680 52 Stat. 1094 section 367 of Title 45The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(4), is , , which is classified principally to chapter 11 (§ 351 et seq.) of Title 45, Railroads. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see and Tables.

Pub. L. 104–193Aug. 22, 1996110 Stat. 2260 section 1183a of this title section 1383 of this title section 1183a of this title section 32 of Title 26This chapter, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), was in the original “this title” meaning title IV of , , , which enacted this chapter, , and sections 611a and 1437y of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, amended , sections 32 and 6213 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code, and sections 1436a and 1471 of Title 42, and enacted provisions set out as notes under and . For complete classification of title IV to the Code, see Tables.

Public Law 99–239 section 201 of Pub. L. 99–239 section 1901 of Title 48 section 201 of Pub. L. 99–658 section 1931 of Title 48Section 141 of the applicable compact of free association approved in or 99–658, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(A), means section 141 of the Compact of Free Association between the Government of the United States and the Governments of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, which is contained in , set out as a note under , Territories and Insular Possessions, and section 141 of the Compact of Free Association between the United States and the Government of Palau, which is contained in , set out as a note under .

act June 27, 1952, ch. 477 66 Stat. 163 section 1101 of this titleThe Immigration and Nationality Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(B), is , , which is classified principally to chapter 12 (§ 1101 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under and Tables.

Amendments

Pub. L. 105–306, § 21998—Subsec. (b)(5). , added par. (5).

Pub. L. 105–306, § 5(a)Subsec. (c)(2)(C). , added subpar. (C).

Pub. L. 105–33, § 5561(a)1997—Subsec. (b)(3). , added par. (3).

Pub. L. 105–33, § 5561(b)Subsec. (b)(4). , added par. (4).

Pub. L. 105–33, § 5565 Public Law 99–239Subsec. (c)(2)(A). , inserted before semicolon “, or to a citizen of a freely associated state, if section 141 of the applicable compact of free association approved in or 99–658 (or a successor provision) is in effect”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1997 Amendment

Pub. L. 105–33 Pub. L. 104–193 section 5582 of Pub. L. 105–33 section 1367 of this titleAmendment by effective as if included in the enactment of title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, , see , set out as a note under .

Abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service and Transfer of Functions

section 1551 of this titleFor abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service, transfer of functions, and treatment of related references, see note set out under .

Additional Funding for State Emergency Health Services Furnished to Undocumented Aliens

Pub. L. 105–33, title IV, § 4723Aug. 5, 1997111 Stat. 515

“(a)

Total Amount Available for Allotment .—

There are available for allotments under this section for each of the 4 consecutive fiscal years (beginning with fiscal year 1998) $25,000,000 for payments to certain States under this section.

“(b)

State Allotment Amount.—

“(1)

In general .—

The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall compute an allotment for each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 1998 and ending with fiscal year 2001 for each of the 12 States with the highest number of undocumented aliens. The amount of such allotment for each such State for a fiscal year shall bear the same ratio to the total amount available for allotments under subsection (a) for the fiscal year as the ratio of the number of undocumented aliens in the State in the fiscal year bears to the total of such numbers for all such States for such fiscal year. The amount of allotment to a State provided under this paragraph for a fiscal year that is not paid out under subsection (c) shall be available for payment during the subsequent fiscal year.

“(2)

Determination .—

For purposes of paragraph (1), the number of undocumented aliens in a State under this section shall be determined based on estimates of the resident illegal alien population residing in each State prepared by the Statistics Division of the Immigration and Naturalization Service as of October 1992 (or as of such later date if such date is at least 1 year before the beginning of the fiscal year involved).

“(c)

Use of Funds .—

From the allotments made under subsection (b), the Secretary shall pay to each State amounts the State demonstrates were paid by the State (or by a political subdivision of the State) for emergency health services furnished to undocumented aliens.

“(d)

State Defined .—

For purposes of this section, the term ‘State’ includes the District of Columbia.

“(e)

State Entitlement .—

This section constitutes budget authority in advance of appropriations Acts and represents the obligation of the Federal Government to provide for the payment to States of amounts provided under this section.”

, , , provided that:

Study and Report on Alien Student Eligibility for Postsecondary Federal Student Financial Assistance

Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title V, § 506Sept. 30, 1996110 Stat. 3009–672Sept. 30, 1996section 1091(p) of title 20, , , provided that not later than one year after , the Comptroller General was to submit to Congress a report on the extent to which aliens who were not lawfully admitted for permanent residence were receiving postsecondary Federal student financial assistance, and the Secretary of Education and the Commissioner of Social Security were jointly to submit to Congress a report on the computer matching program of the Department of Education under .