INTERPLAY BETWEEN
IMMIGRATION, HEALTH CARE AND OTHER SOCIAL SERVICES, OR WHY IS 31 THE MAGIC
NUMBER?
In 2012, the Obama Administration created the Deferred
Action program for young children who had come to the US before age 16 and who
could meet several other requirements.
One of those: to prove that the applicant was under age 31 on June 15,
2012. (Our firm has had the same
experience that many others did: people
in their early 30’s who had entered long before their 16th birthday,
and who met all other requirements, but were 31 or older on June 15, 2012.)
More recently, the Senate passed a reform proposal (S.744)
that would make substantial changes in the family based system. One of those changes would be to limit the 3rd
Preference (married sons and daughters of US citizens) to beneficiaries who are
under 31 when the case is filed. That reform
proposal also terminates the 4th preference category (for brothers
and sisters of US citizens) completely.
What is going on here, and why is 31 such a popular
number? At first blush, the number 31
has no particular relevance to any other immigration requirement or
category. There is more to it than
that. What apparently is happening is
this: the 4th preference is
badly backlogged – 23 years for nationals of the Philippines; 17 years for
Mexicans; 12 years for the rest of the world.
If US citizens are in their 30’s when they file those cases, the
beneficiaries do not arrive in the US until many of them are in their late 40s
and early 50s. As permanent residents,
they have to wait to become eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, but their
numbers do add to the overall burden on government assistance once they become
eligible.
Whether this is a wise choice or not, the Senate clearly has
taken this fact into consideration in drafting S. 744, and when the House takes
up the bill (we hope), that issue is almost certain to color the debate as it
goes forward.
Other policy concerns are having a big impact on the immigration
debate (criminal law issues, tax issues, etc.) as well, but the age of beneficiaries
in the family based system is having the most obvious effect so far.
Gerry Chapman
