Noncitizen Eligibility For Major Federal Public Assistance Programs: Legal Concepts Page: 3 of 6
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CRS-3
Mathews v. Diaz."l In 1976, the Court approved a congressionally-imposed five-
year residency requirement for alien participation in the Medicare Supplementary
Insurance (part B) program. In upholding the residency requirement, the Court declared
that it is "obvious that Congress has no constitutional duty to provide all aliens with the
welfare benefits provided to citizens."12 According to the Court, Congress may draw
distinctions among aliens in providing benefits so long as the distinctions are not "wholly
irrational."13
The Mathews Court recognized that the judicial deference given to a discriminatory
federal welfare provision was at odds with Graham's recent application of a close scrutiny
standard to a discriminatory state welfare measure.14 Yet, the Mathews Court explained
that the equal protection analysis in the two cases "involves significantly different
considerations," because the "Fourteenth Amendment's limits on state powers are
substantially different from the constitutional provisions applicable to the federal power
over immigration and naturalization."15
Plyler v. Doe.16 In 1982, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, held that it is
unconstitutional to deny illegal alien children residing in a state equal access to
elementary and secondary schools. The Court reached this conclusion even while
recognizing that "illegal aliens," by virtue of their illegal presence here alone, are due
lesser constitutional protection than legal aliens are. Nevertheless, the Court looked at
then-current immigration enforcement policy and the consequences of depriving basic
education to children who had no control over their status, and found that the state's
discrimination against illegal alien children could only be justified by "substantial state
interests," a burden not met in the case before it. At the same time, the Court emphasized
the unusual confluence of circumstances in Plyler, and suggested state authority to
discriminate could be influenced by federal immigration policy.
Welfare Reform. In general, the rules on alien eligibility for government
assistance were relatively simple prior to 1996. Aliens who were permanently residing
in the United States under color of law were treated like citizens in qualifying for state
benefits and, for the most part, in qualifying for federal benefits. Illegal aliens, with some
exceptions, were disqualified under most major assistance programs, but the rules were
inconsistent or nonexistent with respect to a range of other assistance. This changed with
the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
(PRWORA).
The PRWORA broadly rewrote the alien eligibility rules for federal and state public
assistance. Though subject to many detailed exceptions, the new rules include a number
" 426 U.S. 67 (1976).
12 Id at 82.
13 Id.
14 Id. at 84.
15 Id. at 86-87.
16 457 U.S. 202 (1982). For a discussion of the Plyler decision, see CRS Report 97-542, The
Right of Undocumented Alien Children to Basic Education: An Overview of Plyler v. Doe.
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Noncitizen Eligibility For Major Federal Public Assistance Programs: Legal Concepts, report, January 30, 2008; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc810382/m1/3/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.