The Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition (PIF) is hosting a Week of Action from May 1 to May 5 to urge Congress to enact the “Lifting Immigrant Families through Benefits Access Restoration Act” (LIFT the BAR Act). The bill would lift an arbitrary five-year waiting period for immigrants to access vital healthcare and social service programs. For 25 years, the “five-year bar” has denied lawfully present immigrant families of color access to critical health and social services. Learn more about the Week of Action and commit to taking action using this form.
The LIFT the BAR Act (H.R. 5227) would repeal harmful barriers created by the “Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996” (PRWORA). PRWORA created an arbitrary five-year waiting period for immigrants to access vital healthcare and social service programs, including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and certain housing assistance programs, such as public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance, and some rural housing programs. This barrier has stoked fear and confusion among immigrants and their families, reducing participation in essential social safety net programs.
The LIFT the BAR Act was introduced in the 117th Congress by Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Tony Cárdenas (D-CA). A companion bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate (S. 4311) by Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and cosponsors Cory Booker (D-NJ), Patty Murray (D-WA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). NLIHC and PIF have consistently supported the LIFT the BAR Act and other efforts to ensure that immigrant populations have access to vital housing and public health programs.
PIF’s Week of Action will include several opportunities to urge support for the LIFT the BAR Act. Advocates can commit to the Week of Action and learn more using this form: https://bit.ly/3ntNqxn
Learn more about the “five-year bar” at: https://bit.ly/40QYJxU
Commit to PIF’s Week of Action using this form: https://bit.ly/3ntNqxn