Low-income immigrant families would be eligible for state food benefits and cash assistance under legislation discussed Tuesday that coincides with a surge of new arrivals who are coming to Massachusetts. The bills filed by Reps. Antonio Cabral and Judith Garcia and Sen. Sal DiDomenico (H135 / S76) would restore the public benefits that the state previously funded from 1997 to…
) would restore the public benefits that the state previously funded from 1997 to 2002, with the goal of tackling food insecurity among immigrants who are legally present and struggling to cover everyday necessities, the New Bedford Democrat and advocates testified at a Tuesday hearing. More than 50 lawmakers have signed onto the House and Senate proposals.
"Every day we see the human cost of our broken federal immigration policies and their inequitable treatment of those legally present and seeking safety in the U.S.," Weber said. "This is a crazy patchwork of eligiblity," said Baker, who's a member of the Feeding Our Neighbors Coalition, which launched in January and represents 70 organizations focused on health care, food assistance, immigrant advocacy and other community resources.
DiDomenico, in an interview with the News Service, emphasized that immigrants who are considered legal residents and on the path to becoming U.S. citizens would qualify for the state benefits, as the Everett Democrat acknowledged pushback he's heard from opponents who are critical of the state for providing public assistance to undocumented individuals.
"If we don't pass a bill like this and we don't have more assistance in their hands, potentially many of these families could end up in the emergency shelter system," DiDomenico told the News Service.
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