Social Policies for Immigrant Families


One of the major problems of social policy for immigrant families is eligibility for many public policies now have a waiting period of 3 to 5 years.  So this means families who come here with nothing, are then denied the assistance they need to help get on their feet.  By the time these families are eligible for it, they may not need it, or don't want it due to the bitter taste of it left in their mouth union arrival and initial denial of it.  The law also says that immigrants cannot use the SNAP program, or supplemental nutrition assistance.  The government also monitors these programs closely and if an immigrant applies before eligible, they will risk deportation.  So not only are these families under great stress with adaptation and assimilation, they are worried about being sent back to often bad conditions they fled from.  Refugee families fair better than immigrant families in that they are eligible for and have access to many more social public policies because of their refugee status.  It was said in our text that "Too often, for political reasons, the federal government grants only economic immigrant status to immigrant families who flee their homelands to escape violence, thereby cutting them off from refugee assistance programs" (Broder & Blazer, 2011; Speiglman et al., 2013; Tienda & Sanchez, 2013).  Many of these policies are problematic in that they fail to help support the families upon arrival which is probably when they need this assistance the most.  In order for immigrant families to better succeed, these supports should be available much sooner than the 3 to 5 year waiting period while they are adapting and settling in.  

Comments

  1. Maritza LimonJune 21, 2019 at 12:01 AM

    Hello Crystal,

    The first point that you made was actually the same point I made when I completed the letter to a senator assignment. I think it makes absolutely no sense to have families, who most of the time arrive here with nothing at all, to wait five years to receive public assistance. It would make a lot more sense that they receive the help when they actually need it most.

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  2. Alissa CochranJune 22, 2019 at 8:49 PM

    Crystal, great post! I agree with you that immigrants need this help most upon arrival. The waiting period for assistance is far too long and isn't doing much good for those in need. Of course we don't want families taking advantage of these services but there has to be a better way to ensure that isn't happening. Refugees are treated fairly in this country in my opinion because they have many resources available to them because of their status and don't have the stress of possible deportation as do immigrants. Some changes definitely need to be made!

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