Aug. 22, 1996 – Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act Denies Most Forms of Public Assistance to Most Legal Immigrants

“On August 22, President Clinton signed into law ‘The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,
a comprehensive bipartisan welfare reform plan that will dramatically
change the nation’s welfare system into one that requires work in
exchange for time-limited assistance… The law includes provisions that
would deny most forms of public assistance to most legal immigrants for
five years or until they attain citizenship. The President has said
that legal immigrants who fall on hard times through no fault of their
own and need help should get it, although their sponsors should take
additional responsibility for them.”