The Senate Courts of Justice Committee killed legislation from Sen. Glen Sturtevant, R-Chesterfield, that would have required the Department of Social Services (DSS) to ask about immigration status when someone is applying for benefits.
Democrats on the committee pointed out that it is already a requirement to be legally in the country to receive social service benefits. Undocumented non-citizens are not eligible for SNAP benefits, according to the DSS, and they never have been.
“I believe there’s a code section right before this which says you can’t get services if you’re not legally present,” said Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax. “You have to establish legal presence in order to get these benefits. So I’m not really clear what you’re trying to do.”
Sturtevant said he is trying to establish a standard approach across all programs.
“The bill does not affect who is eligible and who is not for public assistance benefits,” Sturtevant said in response to Surovell. “But it does create some standardization and ensures consistency across all programs.”
“For the vast majority of federally funded benefits programs. This question already has to be asked of recipients, but there is not a standard approach among all programs,” he continued. “What this bill does is it requires that for all programs, regardless, we are collecting that information so that there is that standardized approach, and so that DSS in all of our local DSS offices are able to more quickly determine eligibility.”
Sen. Russet Perry, D-Loudoun, cited multiple points in the code requiring social services applicants to prove they are legally in the United States.
“We put the onus on that they have to bring the evidence, they have to provide the proof,” she said. “So it’s not even on us to ask the questions. They have to show it. It’s a barrier to entry. If they can’t show it, then it doesn’t happen, and it’s prohibited.”
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration supported the bill, and James Williams, the commissioner of social services, spoke in support of it at the hearing.
“Typically, what happens is we rely on federal programs to actually make the rules very clear,” Williams said. “What we’ve seen happen over the last several years is that programs will be created—for example, EBT and the childcare subsidy program—and the rules actually kind of linger.”
“What this bill does is it very clearly authorizes and requires local departments and me as a commissioner to just inquire about immigration status, and it provides a consistent requirement for us to do that across all the programs. It doesn’t determine eligibility.”
There are exceptions in federal law for asking about immigration status for children, for example. DSS is not required to ask about immigration status for children, but they are not prohibited from asking either, which was pointed out by Surovell and Perry.
“The federal rule on the child care subsidy program, for example, says if we ask for immigration status and the applicant does not want to provide that, that we can’t force them to provide that, but we can still inquire, which is what this bill does,” Williams said.
“Not only are you not prohibited, in fact, everything that I’ve said under this specific part where you have to be a citizen, federal law, state law to receive these benefits, the onus is on the individual to provide proof that they are here lawfully,” Perry responded.
The committee eventually voted to kill the bill.
Documented non-citizens are eligible for Medicaid in Virginia if they meet specific eligibility requirements, including income and immigration status.
Pregnant women may be eligible regardless of their immigration status. Asylees and refugees may be eligible for Medicaid for the first seven years of their status.
Children under 19 who are lawfully residing in the US are eligible for Medicaid.
Noncitizens who meet all other Medicaid eligibility rules except immigration status may still be able to get Medicaid coverage for emergency services only.
Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, sponsored legislation last year that would have allowed undocumented children under the age of 19 to receive Medicaid benefits. The bill advanced out of the Senate but died in the House of Delegates.
Legally residing non-citizens who are not eligible for Medicaid because of their immigration status may also be eligible for health coverage and financial assistance through Virginia’s Insurance Marketplace.