Illegal SNAP: Food stamp formula biased in favor of immigrants?

[Geee]

Watchdog.org:

Texas issues food stamps to households with illegal immigrants, but the state cannot say how much or how many.

 

Applications do not collect that data, the Health and Human Services Commission told Watchdog.org.

 

IN THE BAG: A new report contends that households with illegal immigrants qualify for food stamps more easily than citizen-only households.

 

By law, illegal immigrants are not eligible to receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which dispensed $5,260,941,424 in food stamps across Texas in fiscal 2015.

 

According to HHSC, which administers food stamps via the Lone Star card, “If an applicant or client reports having an unlawfully present immigrant in the household, the immigrant’s income is counted as income for that household’s SNAP benefits.”

 

The calculation, required under federal law, divides the immigrant’s income evenly among the number of household members.

 

“All prorated shares of the income count as income for the eligible household members, except the unlawful immigrant’s share,” HHSC said.