Topic: USDA partnering with Mexico to boost food stamp participation

[Pandora]

The Mexican government has been working with the United States Department of Agriculture to increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps.

USDA has an agreement with Mexico to promote American food assistance programs, including food stamps, among Mexican Americans, Mexican nationals and migrant communities in America.

“USDA and the government of Mexico have entered into a partnership to help educate eligible Mexican nationals living in the United States about available nutrition assistance,” the USDA explains in a brief paragraph on their “Reaching Low-Income Hispanics With Nutrition Assistance” web page. “Mexico will help disseminate this information through its embassy and network of approximately 50 consular offices.”

The partnership — which was signed by former USDA Secretary Ann M. Veneman and Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Luis Ernesto Derbez Bautista in 2004 — sees to it that the Mexican Embassy and Mexican consulates in America provide USDA nutrition assistance program information to Mexican Americans, Mexican nationals working in America and migrant communities in America. The information is specifically focused on eligibility criteria and access.

The goal, for USDA, is to get rid of what they see as enrollment obstacles and increase access among potentially eligible populations by working with arms of the Mexican government in America. Benefits are not guaranteed or provided under the program — the purpose is outreach and education.

Some of the materials the USDA encourages the Mexican government to use to educate and promote the benefit programs are available free online for order and download. A partial list of materials include English and Spanish brochures titled “Five Easy Steps To Snap Benefits,” “How To Get Food Help — A Consumer’s Guide to FNCS Programs,” “Ending Hunger Improving Nutrition Combating Obesity,” and posters with slogans like “Food Stamps Make America Stronger.”

When asked for details and to elaborate on the program, USDA stressed it was established in 2004 and not meant for illegal immigrants.

“The partnership with the Mexican embassy was established in 2004,” a USDA spokesman wrote The Daily Caller in an email. “USDA does not perform outreach to immigrants that are undocumented, and therefore not eligible for SNAP.”

Oh, but it does, for the benefit of the anchor babies.

[John Florida]

   My head is going to explode!

[Pandora]

Keep in mind that "legal immigrants" does not mean nationals from other countries that have become citizens, it means those granted asylum, green-card holders and whothehellever else is allowed in here with permission.

Somebody get JF some duct tape, please.

? Lawfully admitted for permanent residence (LPR) in the United States (holders of
green cards). This category also includes “Amerasian immigrants” as defined
under section 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related
Programs Appropriations Act of 1988;
? Granted asylum under section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA);
? Refugee admitted to the United States under section 207 of the INA;
? Paroled into the United States under section 212(d)(5) of the INA for at least 1
year;
? Deportation is being withheld under section 243(h) of the INA as in effect before
4/1/97, or removal is withheld under section 241(b)(3) of the INA;
? Granted conditional entry under section 203(a)(7) of the INA as in effect before
4/1/80;
? Cuban or Haitian entrant under section 501(e) of the Refugee Education
Assistance Act of 1980; or

Under certain circumstances, a battered immigrant spouse, battered immigrant
child, immigrant parent of a battered child or an immigrant child of a battered
parent with a petition pending under 204(a)(1)(A) or (B) or 244(a)(3) of the INA.

Under what conditions is a qualified alien eligible for food stamps?
To receive food stamps, qualified aliens must also meet ONE of the following
conditions and are either eligible indefinitely or limited to a maximum of seven years.
• The following categories are eligible for food stamps indefinitely:

? An LPR who can be credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work under
the Social Security system (credits may be earned individually, in
combination with a spouse and in some circumstances a parent);
? An elderly individual who was born on or before August 22, 1931 and
who was lawfully residing in the United States on August 22, 1996;
? Children under 18 years of age who were lawfully residing in the United
States on August 22, 1996; (Beginning on October 1, 2003, qualified
aliens under 18 years of age are eligible regardless of when they
entered the United States.)
? Blind or disabled individuals receiving benefits or assistance for their
condition as defined under section 3(r) of the Food Stamp Act regardless
of when they entered the United States;
? Beginning on April 1, 2003, an individual who has lived in the United
States as a qualified alien for five years from the date of entry; or
? An individual who is lawfully residing in a State and is on active duty
(other than for training) in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps,
or Coast Guard (but not full-time National Guard) or is an honorably
discharged veteran whose discharge is not because of alien status. This
category includes the spouse (or surviving spouse who has not remarried)
or unmarried dependent children of these individuals. A discharge “Under
Honorable Conditions” does not meet this requirement.

• The following qualified aliens are eligible to receive food stamps during the first
seven years they are admitted or granted status in one of the following categories.

NOTE: If these individuals meet one of the other conditions above, they are
eligible indefinitely. For example, effective April 1, 2003, these qualified
aliens are eligible indefinitely once they have met the five-year requirement.
? Refugee admitted under section 207 of the INA (including immigrants
who have been certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services to be victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons in
accordance with the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of
2000 (P.L. 106-386);
Deportation withheld under section 243(h) or removal withheld under
section 241(b)(3) of the INA;
? Cuban or Haitian entrant under section 501(e) of the Refugee Education
Assistance Act of 1980; or
? Amerasian immigrant under section section 584 of the Foreign Operations,
Export Financing and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 1988.
? Asylee granted asylum under section 208 of the INA;

Which categories of aliens are exempt from the non-citizen limitation?
The following categories of non-citizens are eligible for food stamps on the same basis as
citizens (i.e., they do not have to be qualified aliens):
? Naturalized citizens. (Technically, these individuals are not considered aliens
since they have the same status as citizens.)
? American Indians born in Canada living in the United States under section 289 of
the INA or non-citizen members of a Federally-recognized Indian tribe under
section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. This
provision is intended to cover Native Americans who are entitled to cross the
United States border into Canada or Mexico. It includes, among others, the St.
Regis Band of the Mohawk in New York, the Micmac in Maine, the Abenake in
Vermont, and the Kickapoo in Texas.
? An individual lawfully residing in the United States who was a member of a
Hmong or Highland Laotian tribe that rendered assistance to United States
personnel by taking part in a military or rescue operation during the Vietnam era
(August 5, 1964 – May 7, 1975). This category includes the spouse (or
unremarried surviving spouse) or unmarried dependent children of these
individuals.

Which categories of aliens are ineligible for food stamps?
Individuals are prohibited from receiving food stamps under any circumstances if they
are:
? lawfully residing in the United States in a non-qualified status and are not exempt
from the immigrant restrictions (such as students or qualified aliens who have not
been in status for five years); or
? undocumented immigrants (such as individuals who entered the country as
temporary residents and overstayed their visas or who entered without a visa).
Who determines if an immigrant is in a qualified status?
The INS has sole responsibility for determining the status of immigrants.

Yah, and I'm sure the INS is qualified to make such determinations.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/rules/Legislation/pdfs/Non_Citizen_Guidance.pdf

[Libertas]

Bullsh*t, the Constitution is the final arbiter of who is and is not a citizen, therefor it also must have the final authority to define the terms of non-citizens and who becomes citizens.  But Congress long ago gave up the fight and so the Executive gets to define and classify as it deems fit through control of the bureaucracy.  If we had a Congress worth a damn they would reestablish control.  But I don't expect Congress will do much but piss and moan a little...

 

[Pandora]

Another illegality being perpetrated by Obongo's administration and they're doing it through the above mentioned agreement with Mexico:

A basic premise of immigration law is that immigrants to the U.S. are expected to be self-supporting. We obviously don’t want to attract people who have no intention of working, but simply want to benefit from our generous welfare system. This principle is incorporated into the Immigration and Nationality Act, which provides:

    An alien who, in the opinion of the consular officer at the time of application for a visa, or in the opinion of the Attorney General at the time of application for admission or adjustment of status, is likely at any time to become a public charge is inadmissible.

But, as in so many other instances, President Obama has simply changed the law by executive fiat. In this case the administration acted quietly, so that it took quite a while before others understood how badly Obama had subverted the immigration laws. Yesterday, four Republican Senators wrote to Janet Napolitano and Hillary Clinton; you can read their letter here:

    It has long been a sound principle of immigration law that those who seek citizenship in this country ought to be financially self-sufficient. We were thus shocked to discover that both the State Department and DHS exclude reliance on almost all governmental welfare programs when evaluating whether an alien is likely to become a public charge. Your agencies apply a cramped interpretation of the law in this regard, considering reliance on only two of nearly 80 federal welfare programs as evidence of likelihood of becoming a public charge: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

    In fact, guidance from your agencies specifically prevents consular and DHS officials from considering the likelihood that an alien will receive SNAP benefits [food stamps], WIC payments, Medicaid, child-care benefits, foster care, energy assistance, educational assistance, other medical and health benefits, and assistance from at least fifteen different nutritional programs.

H/T Gateway Pundit to Powerline

[Libertas]

Treason.  But few see it that way...