Coalition Sign-On Letter to Congress Urging Support of the SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Acts (HR 4035 and S 2623)

Dear Member of Congress,

The undersigned organizations are writing to urge your support of the SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Acts (HR 4035 and S 2623) which would help thousands of refugees, asylees, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and other ""humanitarian"" immigrants who have lost or will lose their eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This bipartisan legislation would allow eligible seniors and persons with disabilities to receive subsistence benefits for up to 2 additional years.

Currently, under a provision of the 1996 welfare law, these immigrants are required to become citizens during their first 7 years in the country, or else lose their eligibility for SSI. A combination of immigration backlogs, processing delays, statutory caps on the number of asylees who can adjust their status, as well as language and other barriers, have made it impossible for these immigrants to become citizens within the seven-year period.

According to the Social Security Administration, over 48,000 humanitarian immigrants face the loss of benefits due to the 7-year time limit. These cuts are doubly injurious for immigrants who live in states in which the loss of SSI eligibility triggers the loss of Medicaid coverage. These devastating restrictions can also jeopardize lives: when threatened with the termination of their SSI benefits in 1996-7, several elderly immigrants committed suicide.

Since its founding, the United States has provided a refuge for persons fleeing political persecution, war and abuse. Our long-standing commitment to help men and women who have suffered the world's greatest atrocities, compels us to ensure that they have the assistance they need to avoid undue suffering.

Congress must act now to safeguard the health and well-being of humanitarian immigrants and restore the promise of this country as a safe haven. Please support HR 4035 and S 2623 and thereby allow thousands of immigrant seniors and persons with disabilities the resources they need to thrive in their new home.

Sincerely,

African Services Committee (New York, NY)
American Civil Liberties Union (Washington, DC)
Asian American Community Service Association Inc. (Tulsa, OK)
Asian Law Alliance (San Jose, CA)
Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco, CA)
Asian Pacific American Legal Center (Los Angeles, CA)
Benefits Advocacy Team of Dane County (Madison, WI)
Bosnian Herzegovinian American Community Center (Chicago, IL)
Catholic Charities, USA (Alexandria, VA)
Center for Civil Justice (Saginaw, MI)
Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York (New York, NY)
Churches United of the Quad City Area (Rock Island, IL)
Coalition of African, Asian, European, and Latino Immigrants of Illinois (Chicago, IL)
Community Healthcare Network (New York, NY)
Council of Senior Centers and Services of New York City, Inc. (New York, NY)
Davenport Deanery Social Action Commission (Davenport, IA)
Disability Network (Flint, MI)
Dustin W. Dyer, Esq. and McDonald Dyer, P.C. Attorneys & Counselors at Law (Richmond, VA)
Economic Justice Institute, Inc. (Madison, WI)
Employment Resources, Inc. (Madison, WI)
Episcopal Migration Ministries, the Episcopal Church Center (New York, NY)
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (Miami, FL)
Florida Legal Services, Inc (Miami, FL)
Generations Area Agency on Aging (Davenport, IA)
Greater Upstate Law Project, Inc. (Albany, NY)
Gulfcoast Legal Services, Inc. (St. Petersburg, FL)
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (New York, NY)
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Hmong National Development, Inc (Washington, DC)
Idaho Office for Refugees (Boise, ID)
Immigration and Refugee Services of America (Washington, DC)
Institute for Wisconsin's Future (Milwaukee, WI)
International Refugee Research Institute (Washington, DC)
Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence (Des Moines, IA)
Jacksonville Area Legal, Jacksonville, FL
Jewish Council for Public Affairs (Washington, DC)
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (Chicago, IL)
Korean Resource Center (Los Angeles, CA)
Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County (West Palm Beach, FL)
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (Baltimore, MD)
Lutheran Services in Iowa Refugee Cooperative Services (Des Moines, IA)
Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan (Milwaukee, WI)
Managed Health Services (West Allis, WI)
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (Boston, MA)
Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (New York, NY)
MFY Legal Services, Inc. (New York, NY)
Michigan Association of Centers for Independent Living (Haslett, MI)
Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center, a program of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights (Chicago, IL)
National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (Washington, DC)
National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (Washington, DC)
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (Washington, DC)
National Council of Jewish Women (New York, NY)????
National Federation of Filipino American Associations (Washington, DC)
National Health Law Program (Washington, DC)
National Immigration Forum (Washington, DC)
National Immigration Law Center (Los Angeles, CA)
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (Los Angeles, CA)
National Immigration Law Center (Los Angeles, CA)
National Senior Citizens Law Center (Los Angeles, CA)
New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, Inc. (Newark, NJ)
New York Association for New Americans, Inc. (New York, NY)
New York Immigration Coalition (New York, NY)
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (Seattle, WA)
Our Savior's Lutheran Church (Lansing, IA)
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (Philadelphia, PA)
Refugee & Immigration Services, Diocese of Jefferson City (Jefferson City, MO)
Riverside Language Program (New York, NY)
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law (Chicago, IL)
Self Help Community Services, Inc. (New York, NY)
Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (San Jose, CA)
Shorefront YM-YWHA of Brighton-Manhattan Beach, Inc. (Brooklyn, NY)
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (Washington, DC)
UJA-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York (New York, NY)
United Jewish Communities (Washington, DC)
Association of Jewish Family & Children's Agencies (Washington, DC)
Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (Washington, DC)
Waterville Lutheran Church (Waterville, IA)
Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy (Milwaukee, WI)
Wisconsin Council of Churches (Sun Prairie, WI)
Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring (New York, NY)
World Relief (Baltimore, MD)
YKASEC-Empowering the Korean American Community (Flushing, NY)