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The Legislature, alongside Gov. Maura Healey, reinstated a policy, discreetly, to provide state-funded food assistance for immigrants holding legal status but not citizenship in the U.S. This revival, sanctioned in a $3.1 billion spending bill, approximates a cost of $6 million and is anticipated to endure for seven months.
Formerly, Massachusetts was among six states extending Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to all legally documented immigrants meeting income criteria. However, funding for the program ceased in 2002 after a five-year run. A surge of new immigrants into Massachusetts over the past year prompted appeals from immigration and anti-homelessness advocates to reintroduce food benefits for low-income groups, excluded from federal aid programs.
Norieliz DeJesus, policy and organizing director at La Colaborativa, emphasized the significance of this change for families grappling with numerous challenges. The community group, operating a food pantry under the Tobin Bridge twice weekly, observes around 10,000 individuals lining up for food every week. DeJesus noted a significant rise in numbers in the past year, attributed to the influx of new immigrants.
Many of these families, though possessing legal status, lack federal work authorization and thus do not qualify for federal benefits due to their immigration status, leaving them with limited means to provide for themselves and their children. DeJesus highlighted that expanding SNAP benefits would allow these individuals to purchase groceries instead of relying on the food pantry, significantly alleviating their struggles.
Pat Baker, senior policy advocate at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, outlined the complexities around which immigrants can access federal benefits. Eligible immigrants who were previously ineligible for federal benefits, including humanitarian parolees and those considered “under the color of law,” now have access to state SNAP. This category encompasses certain asylum applicants, individuals granted temporary protected status, and those lawfully present with work authorizations but not deemed “qualified” for benefits.
