老澳门开奖结果

WASHINGTON 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果, the 老澳门开奖结果 of Puerto Rico, Demos, Equally American, and the Washington Lawyers鈥� Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court today urging the court to uphold that residents of Puerto Rico, and residents of all federal U.S. territories, are entitled to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution.

The case, United States of America v. Vaello-Madero, concerns the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which offers benefits to seniors, blind or visually impaired people, and people with disabilities who are residents of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Congress, however, has declined to extend the SSI benefits to Puerto Rico residents despite the fact that residents of Puerto Rico, like those of Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are entitled to equal protection of the laws of the United States. The issue before the Supreme Court is whether Congress violates Puerto Rico residents鈥� equal protection rights by categorically excluding them from SSI benefits simply because they live in Puerto Rico.

The groups鈥� amicus brief argues that Puerto Rico residents should be entitled to enjoy the full protections of the U.S. Constitution, and that by denying SSI benefits to residents of the territories, Congress disfavors a group that lacks voting representation in Congress, has historically faced marginalization and disenfranchisement, and overwhelmingly consists of people of color 鈥� leaving this group without equal protection under the law.

鈥淧uerto Rico residents are entitled to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution, but by excluding them from this program, Congress unconstitutionally discriminates against them,鈥� said Adriel I. Cepeda Derieux, senior staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果 Voting Rights Project. 鈥淓veryone in the U.S. and the territories should have the same access to the benefits they're entitled to. Puerto Rico residents, who are disproportionately people of color, cannot vote to remedy their arbitrary and flawed exclusion from this law, and this unequal treatment must end.鈥�

The respondent in this case, Mr. Vaello-Madero, received SSI benefits while he lived in New York and continued to receive them by direct deposit to his bank account upon moving to Puerto Rico in 2013. In 2016, when the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) learned of his change in residence, it sued to recover $28,000 in benefits that Mr. Madero had received since leaving New York. Mr. Vaello-Madero won summary judgment on an equal protection challenge against the SSA鈥檚 collection action, which the First Circuit affirmed. The First Circuit held that the government couldn鈥檛 justify denying SSI benefits to Puerto Rico residents on grounds that they don鈥檛 pay federal income tax because SSI funds are disbursed from the general federal treasury, to which Puerto Rico annually contributes billions.

The groups support the lower court鈥檚 analysis and contend the Constitution鈥檚 protection of individual rights and limitations on government should apply fully to all federal territories, including Puerto Rico.

Below are additional comments from:

William Ramirez, executive director of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Puerto Rico:鈥淭he United States Government cannot deprive the people of the federal territories of their equal constitutional protections, civil rights, and liberties just because of their territorial status.鈥�

Joanna Wasik, supervisory counsel for the Washington Lawyers鈥� Committee: 鈥淭his is yet another example of the racialized treatment of the residents of Puerto Rico and their treatment under federal law as second class citizens. There is, and can be no basis for this discrimination.鈥�

Neil Weare, president of Equally American: 鈥淒enying some of the most vulnerable citizens critical federal benefits based solely on where they happen to live isn鈥檛 just wrong, it鈥檚 unconstitutional. No other American community would accept this kind of discrimination, and residents of the territories shouldn鈥檛 have to either.鈥�