Op-ed: A 1996 law prevented migrants from getting welfare — it’s been ignored for 30 years
By George Fishman on September 21, 2025
1996 was the “Year of Welfare Reform,” including for migrants.
The historic Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was designed to “strengthen the principle that immigrants come to America to work, not to collect welfare benefits.” PRWORA cut off illegal aliens from most federal public benefits.
It instituted a five-year ineligibility period for lawful permanent residents (LPRs) for most federal welfare programs, “to send a clear signal that immigrants are expected to … not become dependent on public welfare benefits.”
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, enacted later in 1996, required that U.S. citizens and LPRs sponsoring relatives for green cards sign legally binding affidavits of support, obligating them to reimburse taxpayers for welfare benefits received by sponsored aliens.
But Bill Clinton got into a world of hurt with the Democrat base for signing PRWORA into law. Per the Washington Post, “labor unions, religious groups and organizations representing women, minorities and immigrants … expressed outrage.” Probably most in President Clinton’s mind was the president of the National Organization for Women’s threat of retribution: “while some of us may hold our noses and vote for President Clinton, many of us will refuse to lift a finger or contribute a penny toward his reelection.”
https://cis.org/Fishman/Oped-1996-law-prevented-migrants-getting-welfare-its-been-ignored-30-years
