A government program to keep illegal aliens off the food stamp rolls may be a waste of money because few undocumented immigrants appear willing to risk detection by applying for welfare, Agriculture Department investigators say.
But advocates say the system has caught thousands of illegal aliens who tried to get benefits and is a deterrent that keeps other immigrants out of welfare offices.The Agriculture Department, which runs the $25.6 billion food stamp program, is expected to spend $5 million this year verifying the immigration status of food stamp applicants. Yet USDA's Office of Inspector General says the system rarely catches an illegal immigrant.
"State agency officials stated that illegal aliens applying for program benefits are not a problem because undocumented aliens do not risk detection by applying for (food stamp) benefits," the investigators said in a September audit, obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act.
But the Immigration and Naturalization Service says its verification system detected 10,837 illegal aliens who applied for food stamps in 1991 and 1992, resulting in potential savings to taxpayers of $14.5 million.
An INS official said the agency's figures are based on the number of inquiries to the system as well as logs kept by local offices.