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I've been writing some threads about the "COVID & the Law" course I'm co-teaching this summer @Penn (w/ @Dean_Ruger & Prof. Allison Hoffman). Here's a thread on the 3d class I taught, on the pandemic's effect on "the undeserving poor." (1/x) https://twitter.com/kmtani/status/1285738359730638851
By this class, students were familiar w/ the concept of "the undeserving poor." We had talked repeatedly abt one group that has long been given this label: the so-called able-bodied poor (i.e., ppl who should be getting what they need from work, not "welfare") (2/x)
We see this idea at play in the history of AFDC/TANF, in the structure of SSI/SSDI, & even in SNAP (now more than ever).... although who is considered "able-bodied" has changed over time [see work by @sarah_f_rose], as has who is exempt from the expectation of paid work (3/x)
This all matters in the COVID era b/c "able-bodied" non-workers have so little to fall back on. (If you're thinking general assistance, think again, shows @centeronbudget: https://www.cbpp.org/research/family-income-support/state-general-assistance-programs-are-weakening-despite-increased.) (4/x)
For this class, though, we focused on two other groups that are now treated as "undeserving": (1) immigrants (often along w/ non-immigrant family members), & (2) people who reside in carceral institutions. (5/x)
To introduce students to the position that immigrants & their families currently occupy within the U.S. welfare state -- made even harsher by the recent revision to the #PublicCharge rule -- I assigned this @urbaninstitute brief: https://www.urban.org/research/publication/amid-confusion-over-public-charge-rule-immigrant-families-continued-avoiding-public-benefits-2019 (6/x)
For students wanting a deeper understanding of the public aid that is legally available to immigrants & their families (a very complex question!), I referred them to this @pewtrusts brief: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2014/09/mapping-public-benefits-for-immigrants-in-the-states (7/x)
I didn't assign any #legalhistory, but in my lecture, I drew on Prof. Cybelle Fox's excellent @JournAmHist article -- showing that for decades, immigration status was generally NOT relevant to a person's ability to receive public aid: https://academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/102/4/1051/2364331 (8/x)...
... and although the "public charge" rule had long been on the books, its history is complex (see Margot Canaday, @hidehirota, & others). Policymakers have not always equated being an immigrant with being "undeserving" of public support in time of need. (9/x)
For reasons that Cybelle Fox details in her article (& that historians such as Mae Ngai have also laid out), the 70s, 80s, 90s brought a restrictionist turn to federal social welfare policy -- & we live w/ it today. (10/x)
In the time of COVID, this has left many immigrant families in dire need. In some places it is non-gov't actors who are now providing a (threadbare) safety net. I assigned this @TalkPoverty article, by @raylevyuyeda, to illustrate the point: https://talkpoverty.org/2020/06/18/undocufunds-supporting-immigrants-government-wont/ (11/x)
This all set us up to read abt a lawsuit filed by @GeorgetownLaw's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy & Protection, challenging the denial of CARES act payments to U.S. citizen children whose parents lack legal status (RV v. Mnuchin): https://www.law.georgetown.edu/icap/our-work/defending-vulnerable-communities-sanctuary-cities-daca-and-more/r-v-v-mnuchin/ (12/x)
ICAP's Rob Friedman joined us for class (along w/ litigator Susan Lin, whom I'll mention when I get to prison litigation). We had a great conversation abt RV v. Mnuchin & also discussed related litigation efforts, e.g. the one targeting this issue: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/shes-a-us-citizen-hes-not-their-family-cant-get-a-stimulus-check/2020/05/08/4dbc64cc-916a-11ea-8df0-ee33c3f5b0d6_story.html (13/x)
To prep for class, I benefited from listening to this "COVID call," w/ historian @car1ygoodman & lawyer @cmackler: . (THANK YOU to the scholars & policy experts putting out this timely content!) (14/x)
This @CpspPoverty brief was also useful: https://www.povertycenter.columbia.edu/news-internal/coronavirus-young-adult-dependents-cares-act (15/x)
As I prepped for my 4th class -- on the vulnerabilities of low-wage essential workers -- there were many overlaps w/ these readings on "undeserving" immigrants -- see, e.g., this story from relatively early in the pandemic: https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/28/sobering-finding-covid19-struck-mostly-low-wage-essential-workers-san-francisco/ (16/x)
Phew! this thread is getting long, so I'll do another thread covering what I learned & what I taught re: COVID & the "undeservingness" of people in carceral institutions. (17/17)
Addendum: for a good intro to the idea of "the undeserving poor," Michael Katz's work is foundational. He has a book by that name, but I'd start w/ "In the Shadow of the Poorhouse": https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/michael-b-katz/in-the-shadow-of-the-poorhouse/9780465024520/.
