Lateefah Simon: “This is an amendment, my colleagues, that conforms the Senate bill to the House bill for the basis of deportation. Under…”

“This is an amendment, my colleagues, that conforms the Senate bill to the House bill for the basis of deportation. Under the language that is now in the bill, without this amendment, any kind of Federal assistance may be a basis for deportation if you receive it for 1 year. For example, a student who would get a student loan, where the sponsor either had to have gone bankrupt or did not have the income, together with the income of the family that came in, that would be a basis for deportation. If in rural Kentucky or Illinois someone got rural transportation for elderly and the disabled, that would be a basis for deportation. That just does not make sense. We keep the AFDC, SSI, food stamps, Medicaid, housing, and State cash assistance. If you get any of those for 1 year, you can be deported, but not any general Federal program.”