Illegal immigrants on food stamps won’t face slower citizenship path: USDA

Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have been quietly assuring illegal immigrants that taking food stamps and other government assistance won’t slow their paths toward citizenship.

The agency’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program addresses the point: The brochure asks, “If I get on SNAP benefits, will I be a ‘public charge?’”

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The brochure then answers: “No. You and your family can apply for and receive SNAP benefits without hurting your chance of becoming U.S. citizens.”

The Daily Caller reported on the brochure, which was part of a packet the USDA gives Mexican consulates for distribution among various Mexican communities in the United States.

The Census Breau reports that heads of households born in Mexico are more likely than any other nationality to take some form of government food assistance.

More than 45 percent are on food assistance, according to March 2011 Census figures, The Daily Caller reports. By way of comparison, just under 14 percent of native-born Americans use food stamps, the report continued.

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