Reporting Undocumented Non-Citizens

A. The local office shall immediately inform the local USCIS office whenever personnel responsible for the certification or recertification of households determine that any member of a household is ineligible to receive SNAP because the member is present in the United States in violation of immigration laws. B. In determining whether the member is present in the United States in violation of immigration laws, caution shall be exercised to ensure that the determination is not made merely on the non- citizen's inability or unwillingness to provide documentation of non-citizen status. When a person indicates an inability or unwillingness to provide documentation of non-citizen status, the local office shall not continue efforts to obtain documentation other than that necessary to obtain information on the income and resources to be made available to remaining members of the household. C. Because many non-citizens who are legally present in the United States are not eligible for SNAP, eligibility technicians are cautioned that a determination that a person is an ineligible non- citizen is not equivalent to a determination that a person is a non-citizen present in the United States in violation of immigration laws. D. When and if a SNAP eligibility technician is able, based on information that becomes available to him/her in the process of reviewing a household's eligibility for SNAP, to determine that a member or members of that household are in fact non-citizens present in the United States in violation of the immigration laws, the eligibility technician will report the determination to their supervisor. The report to USCIS, if made, shall be in writing. This rule does not permit the reporting to USCIS on mere suspicion or prejudice. Firm evidence that a household is illegally in the U.S. would be required. A person known to be a non-citizen in the United States in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act is only known to have such status when they are found in this country and are known to have a final order of deportation outstanding against them. An outstanding order of deportation is final when it is not subject to appeal because the relevant statutory appeal period of ten (10) days has expired or because there are no lawful grounds upon which an appeal may be based or because the available administrative and/or judicial appeals have been exhausted, and the order is not subject to review under the limited standards of reopening for consideration. E. The failure to report a non-citizen illegally present in the United States in violation of immigration laws to USCIS will not be considered a quality assurance error or assessed as an administrative deficiency.