Preview

Menu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 9, 2021

CONTACT:
Fernanda Durand
214-402-0186
fernanda@communicationsshop.us

Hispanic Federation and Allies Want Supreme Court to End Discrimination in Federal Safety-Net Benefits for Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Supreme Court prepared to hear arguments on U.S. v. Vaello-Madero case today, a case that could decide whether Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico can receive the same benefits as other U.S. citizens, Hispanic Federation and its allies stood on the steps of the nation’s highest court to demand the federal government stop discriminating against U.S. citizens based on where they live, as part of the #TakeAction4PuertoRico campaign.

By denying equal access to federal safety-net programs like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS), the government has created a two-tiered system of benefits: one for U.S. citizens living in the states, and one for those living in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico. Hispanic Federation and 60 groups sent a letter to President Biden asking his administration to stop defending the federal government’s discrimination against vulnerable Puerto Ricans last week, ahead of the Supreme Court hearing.

In bringing U.S. v. Vaello-Madero to the Supreme Court, the Justice Department under the Trump and now Biden administrations is fighting previous federal court decisions that found it, ‘discriminatory, irrational and arbitrary’ to exclude otherwise eligible individuals from SSI — the federal benefits program to help low-income aged, blind, and disabled people with basic needs such as housing and food — solely because they reside in Puerto Rico and not the U.S. mainland.

“This unjust discrimination against Puerto Rico in SSI and other federal programs is rooted in blatantly racist Supreme Court precedents determined over a century ago. Arguing that the current administration is obligated to defend the denial of these constitutional rights to Puerto Ricans is antithetical to the values exhibited by President Biden in so many other respects,” said Frankie Miranda, President and CEO, Hispanic Federation. “The Biden administration must recognize and support the role of the courts to protect politically powerless groups. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, and they must not be denied their Constitutional protections. The opportunity is now for President Biden and the Supreme Court to finally right this historic wrong with a new legal precedent that makes it clear that unjustly denying any American their full rights is unconstitutional and indefensible.”

“The Court should follow the precedent set by Trump v. Hawaii, when it overruled Korematsu v. U.S., as being ‘gravely wrong the day it was decided’, and having ‘no place in law under the Constitution.’ That reasoning and conclusion is equally applicable to the Insular Cases, and the Supreme Court should overrule them and affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals,” said Lía Fiol-Matta, Senior Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF. (Read the amicus brief from LatinoJustice PRLDEF joined by Hispanic Federation here).

“For the United States to deny SSI benefits to those who live in Puerto Rico is not only discriminatory, it’s irrational. And considering the shocking rates of poverty in the territory, it’s also deeply harmful and causes immense suffering,” said Kate Lang - Senior Staff Attorney, Justice in Aging (Read the amicus brief from Justice in Aging and AARP here).

“There is no rational basis on which to discriminate against Puerto Rico residents who qualify for SSI benefits. Island residents consistently contribute more in federal taxes than it would cost to extend SSI benefits, and those benefits are key to avoiding needless poverty and to putting Puerto Rico on an economically sustainable path,” said Kimberly Sánchez Ocasio, Associate General Counsel, SEIU. (Read the amicus brief from SEIU, AFSCME, AFT, and UAW here).

“To the Biden administration and members of Congress, I want to express my disappointment for not doing more to give the people of Puerto Rico the same SSI benefits as other US citizens living outside of PR. It’s not fair that SSI benefits don’t change if you move from state to state, but we are not able to receive it while we lived in Puerto Rico, when we are US citizens too,” said Aurelis Aponte, directly impacted Puerto Rican mother (Click here for Aurelis story). “Does Isabella’s life have less value simply because of where we live? Could equal access to Medicaid and other federal assistance programs have prevented or at least put off my mother’s Alzheimer’s? Will my own children and future generations also be forced to leave Puerto Rico if they want to exercise their full rights as U.S. citizens?”

“Puerto Ricans residing on the island with a family of four receive less nutritional assistance than those living on the mainland with the same number of family members, specifically $410 monthly versus $642 monthly, because Puerto Rico continues receiving its benefits under the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) instead of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The amount Puerto Ricans on the island receive is even less than the benefits received by other U.S. territories,” said Betzaida Ramos, Executive Director, Movimiento para el Alcance de Vida Independiente (MAVI), the largest independent living center in the Caribbean.

For more information on how to get involved, go to TakeAction4PR.org.