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Immigrants sue government over suspended benefits.

Article Excerpt
Disabled and elderly refugees and asylees have sued several federal agencies seeking reinstatement of benefits that they allege the government unjustly suspended.

Under the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, these so-called humanitarian immigrants are eligible to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI)--a subsistence cash benefit intended for low-income elderly, disabled, or blind U.S. citizens. In most states, SSI benefits which total $603 a month for individuals and $904 for couples--also come with Medicaid coverage.

These benefits are available to humanitarian immigrants on the condition that they become U.S. citizens within seven years.

Getting through the naturalization process, however, has proven difficult for many of these immigrants. Refugees and asylees must first become U.S. residents, a process that...

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