Should people who can't speak English receive benefits from the Govt (food stamps, welfare, etc)?

Question

I don’t think so. If we stopped catering to these non-English speakers (living in the U.S.), they will have to learn English! Why do agencies, like the Language Access Project, insist that government offices must supply translators for non-English speaking clients? The more we cater to these non-English speakers, the less they learn. In the long run, it will benefit everyone, including the non-English speakers, if we stopped babying them!

Here’s the article that prompted me to post this question:

A new study says language barriers are creating obstacles in benefits offices throughout the city.

The study released Wednesday by immigration advocates found that 26 percent of Human Resource Administration offices are not meeting legal requirements by providing translators for their clients.

Read more:
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=76506

Answer 1

if they refuse to assimilate and learn the language why should we have to pay for a translator... they should bring their own if they can't learn the language.

Answer 2

Then not speaking English has nothing to do with it. And the fact that you used the work catering is offensive. You are not hading them anything on a plater! Many of these people work just as hard, if not harder than anyone else. Have you ever even seen the applications to get public benefits? People who speak English have a hard enough time filling that thing out.
No one is being babied. The proccess of filling for benifits is really long and complicated. People will go to the offices who kind of speak english, but are not fluent enough to understant the terms that the workers use.
Try moving to a different country when you're an adult and try learning the language. Im sure that after a couple of years you would learn somethings, but not enough to be able to have a "legal" conversation with some one using legal terms.

Answer 3

It will never stop taking place, reason being we all support the stores that hire those people. it's up to us to understand what they are saying. They have a right to work, but our right to be understood and understand them is a lost right as it stands now. We don't have translators for our benefit to be able to understand them nor tell them what we are in need of. If it was known these advocates themselves aren't able to commute in the English language. Here in California, every store that can hire non speaking personnel are doing it, and then we are the ones with the problems. A good example of what can take place if people don't get ahold on what is taking place, in San Jose, Ca. the Vietnam people are causing alot of problems because the city won't name a section that has Vietnam businesses, Little Saigon. The Vietnam people supported and voted for a young lady from Vietnam, she doesn't agree or will vote for the name, the people want her removed from office. She is understandable, and knows her job on the city council without any problems, yet her people wanted to use her in support of the name. That's what is taking place in alot of areas now, where they isn't any push for the English language because of people put in the different offices.or support to get their requests fulfilled..
We Americans should support people like her that comes to this country knowing full well what it takes to live here, not to be spoon feed by translators, and other means so they have no oblation to this country.

Answer 4

Often I can't understand people from England or Australia who speak English. Also, being from the midwest I have difficulty understanding people for the East Coast. I think we should stop catering to them also. Also, we should keep tourists out of our country from other lands unless they can pass an English proficiency test based upon the way English is spoken in the Midwest. Who wants to be around people that are different that us. In fact we should have followed your suggestion a hundred years ago and we wouldn't have the overcrowding situation we now fact in our country.

Answer 5

Language has nothing to do with the eligibility for food stamps etc.
Welfare Reform Act of 1996: States,

"Any non-citizen who does not meet the definition of qualified alien is considered as a nonqualified alien for the purpose of determining eligibility for benefits. "Undocumented", or illegal , immigrants fall into nonqualified category, but so do aliens considered non immigrants, such as students or foreign visitors, and others who are lawfully present in the United States, such as applicants for asylum."

Services Not Qualified for;
Food Stamps
SSI
Other federal means-test public benefits

Its the law. Benefits for citizens only!

http://ncinfo.iog.unc.edu/pubs/electronicversions/pg/immi.htm

Answer 6

TLB is my hero now!

Citizens qualify for benefits. Whether they speak Spanish, or Swahili, the benefits that they are entitled to can't be taken away because someone else doesn't understand the language. Their eligibility for programs is determined by status in US, income limits, and, other factors. If they were to start telling people what language they have to speak in order to qualify, then, what is the next step of what they can require?

I understand why you think they should be learning the language, but, this way would go against our basis of creating the programs of which you speak.

Answer 7

english must be a requirement for becoming a citizen. Under actual immigration law unless there are special circumstances such as actual real humanitarian cases, aliens legal ones are supposed to show that they won't be a burden to society and thus the whole English thing settles itself.

The problem really is this: criminal enterprises who need to cheat employment laws and compete illegally against legitimate businesses can't pay a living wage and so encourage illegal aliens to get welfare and food stamps then when peopel like you and I disagree with them they say we are anti immigrant. This enrages me.

I am married to a legal immigrant of color and I ahve had to provide tax returns, bank and stock account statements proof of insurance and all just to prove that she won't go on welfare. Of course illegal aliens come to TO GET ON WELFARE!!!

I can't wait to see Twp faced McCain lose the primary and illegal business owners lead away in chains.

Answer 8

I do not think we can stop them from getting benefits but must stop providing them in any language other that English. Why are we providing translators for those who come to our country who know that we are a English speaking country. I question how immigrates who are not suppose to get any benefits for the first first years they are here, are not able to speak English after they are been here 5 years

Answer 9

Sure they should - as long as they are eligible...

What does not speaking English have to do with anything?

New immigrants arriving here and becoming citizens will eventually learn to speak the language. Let's see you move to Russia and start speaking Russian.

Ease up....

Answer 10

Buenos Dias, Senor! well, if you know what that means, then can you speak Spanish. It's not a crime to have difficulty in a language you were not born into. It would be difficult to set some standard that would be "enough" knowledge of the English language to qualify them for benefits. There is no harm done with people communicating in the language they are most comfortable with. That said, it is a shame that some are not striving to learn the language of their adopted country, as they used to do. Illegal immigrants? Well that is a completely diffferent matter than people without much of a grasp of our language.

Answer 11

NO if they want any kind of help from the American people then they should learn to speak English