Senator says food stamp partnership with Mexico 'pressuring' immigrants to enroll

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

The Mexican government has been distributing information about the U.S. food stamp program through its embassy and dozens of consular offices, a partnership that one Republican senator says is the latest example of an "aggressive" push to "expand enrollment regardless of need."

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, raised concerns about the program in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack -- one week after he complained about a Spanish-language ad campaign encouraging residents to go on food stamps.

The USDA ended the campaign following criticism, but Sessions warned in his letter that the U.S.-Mexico partnership is a symptom of the same approach.

His concern -- that Mexican immigrants are being guided toward government assistance instead of "gainful employment."

"It has become increasingly clear that the mission of the food stamp program has moved from targeted welfare assistance for those in need into an aggressive drive to expand enrollment regardless of need," he wrote.

Both the Spanish-language ad campaign and the U.S.-Mexico partnership were launched under the George W. Bush administration. The partnership dates back to 2004 -- it was signed between then-Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Mexico's foreign affairs secretary at the time. The USDA says on its website that it is meant to "educate eligible Mexican nationals living in the United States about available nutrition assistance." To do that, Mexico distributes materials through its embassy and 50 consular offices.

The USDA stressed Thursday that consulates "within the United States" distribute the information about eligibility criteria, as some Mexican Americans and Mexican nationals might not know that information.

"Congress has directed USDA to perform outreach to eligible populations who may be in need of nutrition assistance to help reduce hunger in America," the department said in a statement Thursday. "To that end, the partnership with the Mexican embassy was established in 2004. USDA does not perform outreach to immigrants that are undocumented, and therefore not eligible for (the program)."

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Funny, they seem to be doing that anyway...