New Memorandum Seeks to Collect Debt from Immigrants who receive Financial Assistance

Within the “zero tolerance” policy, President Trump has recently issued a memorandum ordering a plan to collect debt from immigrants who use public funds.

The memorandum issued by the president makes reference to the law promulgated on December 19, 1997, during the Government of President Bill Clinton, where he points out that those who sponsor people who are not citizens must assume financial responsibility for the benefits of social assistance based on the value of the income received for financial assistance.

Anyone who supports an application for residency of a foreigner – either through a citizen or a permanent resident, will be responsible for the amount of aid that foreigners receive from certain public benefits for up to 10 years or until they become citizens.

Among the social assistance programs, that for this purpose are under the observation of the Central Government, we can mention:

– SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

– Medicaid

– Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

The new regulation on this subject must be drafted within 90 days of its signature by the President of the United States. It will consider the procedures to recover public funds received by sponsored foreigners; procedures to consider and determine eligibility for public benefit; procedures to determine exceptions and requirements for the reimbursement of the debt, among other procedures.

The new regulation will impact both the current sponsors and those who plan to sign sworn statements in support of the immigrant who wants to regularize their immigration status.