Doe v. Miller, 83 C 3004.

• Citation: 573 F. Supp. 461
• Decision Date: 20 October 1983
• Docket Number: No. 83 C 3004.,83 C 3004.
• Parties: Joe Jr. and Danny DOE, etc., et al., Plaintiffs, v. Jeffrey C. MILLER, etc., et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

573 F. Supp. 461

Joe Jr. and Danny DOE, etc., et al., Plaintiffs, v. Jeffrey C. MILLER, etc., et al., Defendants.

No. 83 C 3004.

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, E.D.

October 20, 1983.

Joseph A. Antolin, Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, Heidi Noun, Steven Saltzman, Eighteenth Street Office Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, Susan Schreiber, Legal Center For Immigrants Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, Raymond G. Romero, Fernando Colon-Navarro, Mexican American Legal Defense & Educ. Fund, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiffs.

Katherine M. Marshall, Owen M. Field, William A. Wenzel, Ill. Atty. Gen. Office, Chicago, Ill., for defendants.

Memorandum

LEIGHTON, District Judge.

This is a civil action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to secure rights guaranteed by the Food Stamp Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 2011-2029. Plaintiffs in Count I of the first amended complaint are minor children who, although of alien parents, are themselves citizens of the United States; as such, they are eligible for assistance under the federal food stamp program. Plaintiffs in Count II are alien adult parents who, in a representative capacity on behalf of their citizenchildren, have applied to defendants for food stamps.

The cause is before the court on plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction against implementation of policies which, they claim, unlawfully force them either to withdraw food-stamp applications on behalf of their children, or disclose to defendants information about their alien status under threat of being reported to the Immigration and Naturalization Service as "illegal aliens." The material facts are as follows.

I

Among other purposes, the Food Stamp Act of 1964, 7 U.S.C. §§ 2011-2029, is intended to provide direct relief from the hunger and malnutrition that plagues many low-income households in this country. 7 U.S.C. § 2011. The United States Department of Agriculture, through its Food and Nutrition Services Division (hereinafter "FNS"), administers the Act's food stamp program on a national level and promulgates regulations governing its operation. 7 U.S.C. § 2013; 7 C.F.R. § 271.3. Each state has a designated agency responsible for the administration and operation of the program within its boundaries. In Illinois, that agency is the Illinois Department of Public Aid (hereinafter "IDPA"), which is bound by the federal regulations issued by FNS. 7 C.F.R. § 272.2. Defendants in this case are the Director of IDPA and the Director of the Illinois Food Stamp Program.

As part of their administrative duties, defendants promulgate regulations governing the state program in the Illinois Food Stamp Manual. They also are responsible for drafting memoranda of policy, issuing directives to staff, and authorizing the forms, including applications, that are used in connection with the food stamp program. Defendants, moreover, are obligated to "inform participant and applicant households of their ... rights and responsibilities" under the program. 7 C.F.R. § 272.5(b)(2).

Individuals who qualify for benefits under the program receive a monthly allotment of food stamps that can be used like cash to purchase most food items at retail outlets. 7 C.F.R. § 271.2. Only United States citizens, and certain designated classes of aliens, are eligible for assistance. 7 C.F.R. § 273.4(a). All other aliens, including certain legally admitted ones (such as visitors, diplomats, students, and tourists), are "ineligible aliens" who cannot qualify for food stamps. 7 C.F.R. § 273.4(b).

The concept of the "household" is important to understanding how eligibility is determined under the program. A food stamp "household" comprises all persons who live, eat, and purchase food together; a parent and child, therefore, normally are members of a single household. See 7 U.S.C. § 2012(i); 7 C.F.R. § 273.1(a)(3)(i). Where, as with named plaintiffs in this case, parents are aliens ineligible for food stamps and their children are U.S. citizens eligible for food stamps, the ineligible parents are classified as excluded members of the household. 48 Fed.Reg. 6854 (Feb. 15, 1983), codified at 7 C.F.R. § 273.1(b)(2)(i). As such, they neither receive nor directly benefit from food stamps issued to the household's eligible citizen children; their income and resources, however, are apportioned among all household members for purposes of determining the level of benefits received by the children. Id. § 273.1(b)(2).

Congress amended the Food Stamp Act in 1980 to include a provision requiring food stamp caseworkers for state agencies to report to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (hereinafter "INS") those household members who are determined to be "ineligible for food stamps because they are present in the United States in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act." 7 U.S.C. § 2020(e)(17). Defendants have implemented this statute through a regulation which requires that INS be notified when "it is determined that an individual is an illegal alien." Illinois Food Stamp Manual, § P0-310. The regulation further provides that an individual is to be considered "an illegal alien only if he/she reveals his or her illegal status to the food stamp worker." Id. Defendants provide no further guidance as to who is to be considered an illegal alien.

Defendants have promulgated regulations which provide that a caseworker may certify an application for food stamps only when verification of immigration status is provided for each member of a household who is listed as an alien; this requirement, which is stated in absolute terms, is imposed even when alien household members are not seeking benefits for themselves. See Illinois Food Stamp Manual, §§ P0-230 and P0-310. Accordingly, where, as in this case, an ineligible alien parent submits a food stamp application solely for eligible citizen-children, defendants' policies make it necessary for the alien parent to give caseworkers information about his or her immigration status. Illinois Food Stamp Manual, § P0-905. This policy is reflected in the application forms used by defendants which tell persons applying for benefits that verification of immigration status must be provided for all aliens who live and eat in a household, if any member of that household is to receive food-stamp benefits. Defendants provide no means for alien members of a household containing eligible citizen children to declare their willingness to be considered ineligible for food-stamp benefits because they do not seek benefits for themselves, but are unable or unwilling to disclose their immigration status.

Once a food-stamp application has been initially certified, "questionable" information is subject to the same verification procedures when recertification of benefits is sought. Illinois Food Stamp Manual, § P0-905. Defendants provide an intra-agency appeals process for those who feel that a particular denial or termination of benefits is wrongful. When an appeal is pursued, it is the practice of IDPA solely to make a determination whether the action taken by caseworkers conforms with the agency's published policies; indeed, IDPA guidelines control even when it appears that they conflict with applicable federal regulations.

All plaintiffs in Count I are children who are citizens of the United States by virtue of their birth in this country; they, therefore, are eligible for food stamps if the finances and resources of the household in which they live fall below levels set and determined by defendants. Food stamp applications for these eligible citizen-children were in all instances made by and through their parents, like plaintiffs named in Count II, who did not apply for benefits for themselves.

Filiberta Woe,¹ a plaintiff in Count II, had been receiving food stamps since 1981 on behalf of her three young children, Count I plaintiffs Graciela, Edith and Norma Woe, when she was notified that her childrens' benefits would be discontinued if the household were not recertified during July 1982. Shortly after receiving this notice, Ms. Woe went to a neighborhood office of IDPA to complete the necessary forms. She told the caseworker that she wished to continue receiving food stamps for her children as their authorized representative. In response to a series of questions about her immigration status, Ms. Woe told the caseworker that she did not have an alien registration card. The caseworker then informed Ms. Woe that if the food stamp application were processed, even though it was on behalf of the children, she and her husband would be reported to INS. Fearing such a consequence, Ms. Woe withdrew the application; therefore, her children, although eligible to do so, no longer are receiving food stamps.

In July 1982, Adolfo and Gabriela Noe, two minors named in Count I, applied with IDPA for food stamp benefits through their mother Josefina Noe. Ms. Noe wanted food stamps only for her children; no benefits were sought for her or her husband. The caseworker asked Ms. Noe for verification of her alien status. Reiterating that she was not seeking benefits for herself, Ms. Noe stated that she was unable to provide the requested documentation. The caseworker then asked Ms. Noe to sign either an INS release form to verify alien status or a form admitting that she was in the United States illegally. When Ms. Noe refused to sign either form, the caseworker told her that she would be reported to INS if she proceeded with her childrens' application for food stamps. Frightened, Ms. Noe withdrew the application, and her children, although eligible to do so, never received food stamps.

In November 1982, Ninfa and Joe Doe applied for food stamps as the authorized representatives of their children, Count I plaintiffs Joe Jr. and Danny Doe. Mr. and Ms. Doe submitted a statement that they were applying for food stamps only for their two children, not for themselves, and that they were unable or unwilling to provide documentation of...