Mr. President. under the new welfare law. many mentally disabled legal immigrants will lose their SSI and AFDC benefits. As a result. some of these immigrants will be unable to pay their room and board at residential treatment facilities. They may be forced to live on the street. without enough money to buy their lifesaving medication. Two cases demonstrate this problem. In the first case. Mr. X. a former officer in the South Vietnamese army. came to the US as a refugee in 1991. As a result of 12 years on the front lines of the Vietnam War. and 10 years of torture in a reeducation camp. he suffers from serious mental illness. At the age of 54. he is too old to start over. learn a new language. and hold down a job. He receives treatment at a mental health center in California. and receives SSI. If his benefits are terminated. he will no longer have enough money to pay for his treatment. He is studying to pass the naturalization exam. but his memory impairment limits his ability to study. In the second case. a refugee from Vietnam receiving SSI has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. and relies heavily on medication. Without it. he hears voices. and cannot concentrate. follow instructions. or remember anything he learned. He receives $772 a month. of which $692 goes for room and board at a residential facility. If his SSI benefits are cut off. he will be forced to leave the facility. and will be unable to pay for his medication. Unless Congress takes action. these stories will continue. and immigrants who need help for serious mental disabilities will be turned away from their treatment centers and residential facilities. I ask unanimous consent that two recent newspaper articles on this issue may be printed in the RECORD.
Keywords matched
naturalization immigrants refugee