By Ruxandra Guidi
Legal immigrants worry that their need for public assistance, like food stamps or low-income housing, could jeopardize their ability to become legal residents (Green Card holders) or U.S. citizens.
San Diego district director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Paul Pierre, warned that there could be some risks to immigrants.
“If you’re likely to become solely and completely dependent on public assistance for subsistence, you would be ineligible,” said Pierre to a group of social workers and local residents in the City Heights neighborhood. “That is the same whether you’re getting an immigrant visa, or you’re trying to adjust your status in the United States.”