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U.S. Code as of:
01/03/05
Section 1601. Statements of national policy concerning welfare and immigration
The Congress makes the following statements concerning national
policy with respect to welfare and immigration:
(1) Self-sufficiency has been a basic principle of United
States immigration law since this country's earliest immigration
statutes.
(2) It continues to be the immigration policy of the United
States that -
(A) aliens within the Nation's borders not depend on public
resources to meet their needs, but rather rely on their own
capabilities and the resources of their families, their
sponsors, and private organizations, and
(B) the availability of public benefits not constitute an
incentive for immigration to the United States.
(3) Despite the principle of self-sufficiency, aliens have been
applying for and receiving public benefits from Federal, State,
and local governments at increasing rates.
(4) Current eligibility rules for public assistance and
unenforceable financial support agreements have proved wholly
incapable of assuring that individual aliens not burden the
public benefits system.
(5) It is a compelling government interest to enact new rules
for eligibility and sponsorship agreements in order to assure
that aliens be self-reliant in accordance with national
immigration policy.
(6) It is a compelling government interest to remove the
incentive for illegal immigration provided by the availability of
public benefits.
(7) With respect to the State authority to make determinations
concerning the eligibility of qualified aliens for public
benefits in this chapter, a State that chooses to follow the
Federal classification in determining the eligibility of such
aliens for public assistance shall be considered to have chosen
the least restrictive means available for achieving the
compelling governmental interest of assuring that aliens be
self-reliant in accordance with national immigration policy.
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