US Takes First Step to Demand Payback From Sponsors of Immigrants Who Use Welfare

A new citizen holds a U.S. flag at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization ceremony at the New York Public Library in Manhattan, New York, July 3, 2018. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has begun to remind immigrants that if they receive any welfare benefits prior to becoming a citizen, their sponsors will be responsible for repaying the government.

“If the sponsored immigrant receives any federal means-tested public benefits, the sponsor will be expected to reimburse the benefits-granting agency for every dollar of benefits received by the immigrant,” the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) wrote on Twitter on June 14.