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Panel hears bill to restrict local welfare to citizens and permanent residents; immigration-law experts warn of federal exceptions
Summary
House Bill 458 would limit municipal welfare assistance to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents; immigration and refugee-service witnesses testified that federal law requires exceptions for refugees, asylees and certain visa categories and urged careful drafting to avoid undermining federal public-safety and human-trafficking visas.
House Bill 458, introduced Feb. 4, would bar municipal local assistance from being granted to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. Representative Deborah Elward presented the bill; she did not remain for the entire hearing. The committee took testimony from immigration-law and refugee-service experts warning the measure as drafted omits categories that federal law requires states to treat differently.
Stephen Tower, an attorney with New Hampshire…
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