The welfare reform that was signed into law on August 22, 1996 hurt not only single mothers who had depended on public assistance for years, but also elderly refugees, who arrived in the United States after that fateful date. According to the law, people 65 years and older can receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits from the federal government for seven years after their arrival in the United States; however, they lose the benefit if they don't become an American citizen within this period of time.

In 1996, many politicians thought that seven years was time enough to complete the naturalization process. Unfortunately, nobody took into consideration the slow pace of the gigantic immigration bureaucracy, which, by the way, became even slower after it become a part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Currently there are 48,000 elderly refugees in the country who have lost their SSI benefits because their naturalization process was not completed in time; 7,000 of those people live in New York. Recently several law offices in New York state filed a class action suit in the New York Supreme Court against the State on behalf of 25 elderly immigrants, some from the former USSR like Boris Khrapunsky, who is 97 years old.

Supplemental Security Income grows every year. In 2004 a single person received $651 per month and a couple received $951. Elderly refugees who have lost their SSI receive state welfare benefits of $352 per month. The court may demand the state government to close that gap. It is also possible that Congress, under pressure from human rights activists, will extend the naturalization period for elderly refugees.

While these issues are being discussed in the New York Supreme Court, we decided to call on some well known community members and hear what they had to say on the following question: Should the federal government give SSI benefits to all elderly and disabled refugees, regardless of whether they are U.S. citizens or not?

Elvira Pinkhasova, lawyer, New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG):

By all means they should all receive the benefit. Our law firm is among those that filed a class action suit in the Supreme Court. Fifteen of the 25 plaintiffs are our clients, who are represented by three lawyers, including Constance Carden from NYLAG. We deal not only with public benefits but also with immigration issues and we know that backlogs and delays in the naturalization process happen mostly because of immigration services. According to the New York State constitution, the state administration must take care of all needy people in the state. Moreover, the poor should be treated according to their age, health and needs. Yes, elderly refugees who have lost the SSI receive public assistance, but the sum is far from being enough for elderly and disabled people.

Ari Kagan, the leading journalist of the newspaper Vechernyi New York:

Without any doubt they all should receive benefits. I support the attorneys who have filed the class action suit and will be glad if they win the case. But this will be a temporary measure. The issue must be solved on a federal level. The U.S. government should not only extend the naturalization period for elderly immigrants; it should grant them SSI once and for all. Elderly refugees must not be punished because they could not learn English or did not have enough time to complete the naturalization process. They should have SSI regardless of when they arrived to America or their naturalization status. That was the issue people, including myself, fought for during the famous March on Washington. Unfortunately, the problem was only half-solved then. This is a very important legal and humanitarian issue, and, I repeat, it must be solved on a federal level. The state government should not answer for the mistakes of the federal government.

Congressman Gerald Nadler:

I support the class action suit. I think it is a good idea to defend elderly refugees. People should not lose their benefits because of the delays in the immigration service. If we consider these delays, seven years is not enough time for naturalization. Elderly people don't have time to become American citizens, and it is not their fault. That is why those in power should take care of them.

Ilya Levkov, owner of Liberty Publishing House:

I am ambivalent about this issue and the class action suit. I would like to look at this issue from a different community perspective. The Russian Jewish community, with all its organizations and their leaders, knew very well that the situation was dangerous, that several thousand elderly refugees could lose their benefits if they failed to pass the citizenship test. So, why didn’t these leaders and other well-known, educated and prosperous people in the community – lawyers, doctors, businessmen, programmers – somehow "divide" those elderly refugees among them and take them under their wing? Why didn’t they sacrifice some of their time to visit the elderly and prepare them for the naturalization test?

Delays in the immigration services is not the most important problem. The main problem is that our community is dysfunctional. Our people should unite around this problem and make an administrative decision. There must be a spirit of volunteerism in the community. Instead of demanding benefits from the government, we should give needy people our time, our soul. Only then can we speak about community. A community without a soul is nothing.

We are going through the same process as the African-American community. The middle class is alienating itself, even moving to other neighborhoods away from people with lesser means; the community as a whole is not becoming more prosperous. I don't say that our wealthy people must live in Brighton Beach, but they should not forget those who are still there.

Oleg Gutnik, MD:

It is very difficult for elderly people to learn English in order to pass the citizenship test. And it is not fair to deprive them of benefits because of that. I agree with those who defend the interests of the elderly immigrants, who demand they receive benefits that allow them to live without need. Of course, I mean legal immigrants who have gone through the immigration machinery. Our society should not turn its back on them and doom them to need and hunger. This is my opinion as a citizen and a patriot.

Dmitry Margulis, chairman of the Board of Directors of United Association of East European Jewry:

Our elderly immigrants have lived their lives in harsh conditions of poverty and discrimination. They hoped that they would not have the same problems in America, a prosperous, democratic country that takes care of all of its people. I think that all elderly refugees should be granted SSI benefits. Moreover, I think that our Jewish organizations should join the struggle to defend their rights. Yes, we sympathize with people who have lost their benefits, but sympathy alone is not enough; we should offer them real help. The voice of our community must be heard. We should regard this problem as a major problem: the fate of thousands of elderly is at stake.

Igor Shulman, businessman:

I think that our government should not grant any benefits to immigrants, including refugees. America does not owe anything to anyone. I am disgusted by people who say that they were "invited" or even "lured" here, and now the country is not hospitable enough. By the way, I have heard such statements only from the immigrants of the second, the “economic,” immigration wave from the former USSR. I myself belong to the first, the "ideological" wave; for us, the main thing was to escape the "evil empire" to reach the shores of the "Land of the free." We were ready to work day and night without demanding help from the government. We were ready to support our elderly parents and did not take for granted that America should support them, giving them food, shelter and taking care of their health. Our elderly immigrants like very much to boast about their children, mainly prosperous lawyers, doctors and businessmen. Why don’t these wealthy children help their parents, without making demands from the government?

Sophia Eizenshtat, home attendant with ten years of experience:

Yes, yes, and again, yes. Elderly people cannot live on $352 per month; it is totally unreal. This sum is not even enough to pay the rent. To deprive elderly people of SSI benefits is to doom them to peril. It is simply a disaster. Yes, some of them will get help from their children, but not everybody has children. And even if there are children, they are not always eager to help their parents. Some because they themselves cannot make the ends meet; others are greedy and egotistic. There are children who love their parents very much, but there are children who don't have good relationships with their mothers and fathers. Some of my clients had prosperous sons and daughters, but they were alienated from their parents. They did not visit them often, did not help them financially. Elderly people should not depend on the help they may get from their children.