Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced the “Lifting Immigrant Families Through Benefits Access Restoration (LIFT the BAR) Act” on June 15 with 11 Senate cosponsors and 100 House cosponsors. The bill (S.2038/H.R.4170) would lift an arbitrary five-year waiting period currently hindering lawfully present immigrants’ access to assisted housing, vital healthcare, and social service programs. NLIHC supports the bill and works with the Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) campaign to build support for the bill’s enactment. LIFT the BAR was introduced after PIF hosted a week of action May 1 – May 5 urging Congress to eliminate the five-year bar (see Memo, 4/3). PIF is circulating an organizational sign-on letter urging Congress to eliminate the five-year bar (see Memo, 5/15) – there is still time to join the letter.
The LIFT the BAR Act would repeal harmful barriers created by the “Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996” (PRWORA). PRWORA created the arbitrary five-year waiting period before legally present immigrants could access public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance, and some rural housing programs, along with Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The waiting period stoked fear and confusion among immigrants and their families, reducing participation in essential social safety net programs.
The LIFT the BAR Act would amend PRWORA to align it with Section 214 of the “Housing and Community Development Act of 1980,” providing consistent eligibility requirements for recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), immigrants who are granted Special Immigrant Status (SIJS), and any other non-citizens federally authorized to be present in the U.S. If enacted, the LIFT the BAR Act would restore access to vital safety net programs for lawfully present immigrants by:
- Repealing key provisions of PRWORA that: restrict lawfully present immigrants’ eligibility for federal assistance programs; allow states to adopt more punitive restrictions; erect barriers for states or localities that wish to use their funds to establish more inclusive programs; and restrict or deter access to critical services for immigrants with sponsors.
- Removing the five-year waiting period for those wishing to access federally assisted housing, Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, TANF, and SSI.
- Redefining “qualified noncitizens,” a phrase used to define eligibility for many federal programs, to include any individuals who are lawfully present in the U.S.
- Establishing that individuals who have access to Affordable Care Act health insurance under current rules will not lose access to affordable coverage if they remain ineligible for Medicaid.
NLIHC, along with nearly 200 organizations have endorsed the LIFT the BAR Act. Sign on to the letter here
NLIHC will continue to work with the Protecting Immigrant Families campaign to advocate for the bill’s enactment.
Read the Congressional leaders’ press statement here
Read more about the five-year bar from PIF here