Welfare money might be going to illegal immigrants, but don't call it a scandal

It's an outrage. It's a scandal. It's un-American.And something must be done.What is it?

It's the army of illegal aliens getting fat off state welfare benefits. Or, at least that's what earnest callers and letter-writers contend in their regular communications on the subject. Few things seem to rankle readers more than the idea that people here illegally are collecting benefits traditionally reserved for taxpaying citizens.

With the state budget facing a crisis and the economy on the skids, lately I have been reminded more than usual of the unreported costs generated by the undocumented in our midst. Complaints that come in sporadically in fat times greatly increase in frequency and volume when the governor calls for more than $1 billion in state budget cuts.

Polls indicate most Nevadans long ago made up their minds about the aliens among them. A Public Opinion Strategies survey taken in April 2006 provides a substantive baseline for the Silver State's immigration mind-set. Pollster Glen Bolger found 88 percent of voters saw themselves concerned "about the issue of illegal immigration." And 76 percent saw a candidate's stance on the issue as something they would likely consider before voting.

When it comes to receiving a cherished benefit such as the Millennium Scholarship, 67 percent of Nevadans surveyed believed illegal immigrants should be excluded. And another 74 percent believed it should be a felony for businesses to hire illegals. Only half of those polled agreed that children of illegal immigrants should be able to pay in-state college tuition.

In other words, Nevadans harbored strong feelings about illegal immigration, most of it negative.

But while the presence of undocumented immigrants in the community may add costs to everything from the county hospital and public education to police service and courtroom calendar calls, it doesn't seem to have crippled Nevada's traditionally tight-fisted welfare system.

I know that won't sit well with those who dream of an impenetrable border fence and believe illegal immigration is bankrupting the nation. I'm sure the letters are being written before the ink dries on this column.

There's no shortage of outrage, but in this area there's no great scandal. At least that's the view of Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services administrator Nancy Ford. Her office processes claims for things like federal food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families dollars.

The first common misconception is that illegal immigrant adults are allowed to collect temporary assistance funds, Ford says. They're not. Undocumented adults are banned by law, and documented adults are banned for five years.

Their children, however, can receive TANF help. And, obviously, their parents would be allowed access to the dollars.

Of the 21,043 people in Nevada receiving TANF money as of my recent interview, Ford says 2,350 of those are "citizen children of both documented and undocumented aliens." There were 831 immigrant families in the system last month.

There's no way around the fact, Ford says, "the adults are going to get the check because the kids aren't going to be able to pay rent and buy food."

Just how much do these children receive?

It's $306.62 a month per family for the first child and $50 for each additional child.

That's not much incentive to start producing progeny.

"I would say it's probably not cost-effective to have more children," Ford says. "I think the public has a misconception that undocumented aliens are eligible for these programs. They're not."

Nor, she adds, are the noncitizen children of undocumented immigrants.

Here is where state welfare sources tell me they see a problem. They tell me it can be much more difficult and time-consuming for citizens with proper identification to receive benefits than it is for immigrants with no proof of citizenship for their children.

Although no one is turned away at the county hospital, Ford says, only the children of illegal immigrants are eligible for emergency medical care.

All this doesn't mean documented and undocumented immigrants don't generate a cost to the state's welfare service or that there aren't folks gaming the system. But that cost should be kept in perspective when people start shouting about an immigrant scandal in state welfare.

Of course, your definition of scandal also depends on your view of immigration.

Let the letter writing begin.

- John L. Smith's column, reprinted from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, appears on Thursdays on the Appeal's Opinion page. E-mail him at smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295.