DHS launches investigation into California program aiding aged, blind, disabled immigrants

May 13 (UPI) -- The Trump medication has launched an probe into a California state-level programme that provides aged, unsighted and disabled non-citizens with monthly currency benefits connected accusations it was illegally distributing national backing to those ineligible for Social Security.

The Department of Homeland Security announced the probe Monday successful a statement saying it was requesting each records from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, which administers California's Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, to find whether national funds were fixed to ineligible undocumented immigrants.

The probe volition analyse the program's records going backmost to January 2021, the period the erstwhile president, Joe Biden, took office.

"Radical near politicians successful California prioritize amerciable aliens implicit our ain citizens, including by giving amerciable aliens entree to currency benefits," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said successful the statement.

"The Trump medication is moving unneurotic to place maltreatment and exploitation of nationalist benefits and marque definite those successful this state illegally are not receiving national benefits oregon different fiscal incentives to enactment illegally."

The DHS said it is specifically looking to spot if undocumented immigrants were receiving Supplemental Security Income from the Social Security Administration.

California's Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants dates backmost to the 1990s and was established to supply monthly currency benefits to circumstantial immigrants ineligible for SSI owed to their migration status.

According to its website, the programme is wholly authorities funded. To beryllium eligible, applicants indispensable beryllium California residents ineligible for SSI and either beryllium 65 years aged oregon older, unsighted oregon disabled.

The probe was met with swift condemnation from SEIU California national that accused the Trump medication of utilizing "bullying" tactics to onslaught the state's information net.

"Donald Trump's run to instill fearfulness successful migrant communities volition conscionable resolute absorption present successful California," the union's president, David Huerta, said successful a statement.

Huerta said the national authorities has nary ground for its "legal bullying" and nary close to archer California however to usage its authorities funds to combat poverty.

"The sole intent of this sham 'investigation' is clear: intimidation of radical seeking information and of each those who supply them with needed support," Huerta said.

"We volition not beryllium intimidated, and we volition not backmost down."

SEIU California is simply a non-partisan national representing immoderate 750,000 nurses, healthcare workers, janitors, societal workers and information officers arsenic good arsenic city, region and authorities employees.

President Donald Trump ran connected a level to ace down connected migration and to undertake the largest deportation successful American history, portion utilizing arguable and derogatory rhetoric to dispersed misinformation and mendacious claims astir migrants and crime.

Since his January inauguration, helium has utilized his enforcement powers to absorption the national authorities connected targeting immigration.

A period ago, helium signed an enforcement order directing Noem and different furniture officials to guarantee undocumented migration bash not person funds from Social Security programs and to instrumentality civilian and transgression enactment against governments that neglect to forestall non-citizens from receiving the benefits.