Gift Aims To Ease Welfare Reform Hit Financier George Soros Donates $50 Million To Help Legal Immigrants.
When
George Soros broke his leg while working the Christmas shift as a
porter on an English train, he was a 17-year-old Hungarian immigrant
with no money. Socialized medicine fixed the leg.
He could not then have foreseen his lucrative future. But yesterday, the New York financier and philanthropist remembered his meager past, donating $50 million to help legal immigrants hard hit by the United States' newly enacted welfare reform law.
He could not then have foreseen his lucrative future. But yesterday, the New York financier and philanthropist remembered his meager past, donating $50 million to help legal immigrants hard hit by the United States' newly enacted welfare reform law.
"I
have a strong personal feeling about it, being a legal immigrant
myself," Soros said in a remarkably subdued delivery of a gift that some
advocates hope will empower the underdog and ultimately reframe the
debate about immigration policy. "I took this particular aspect of the
welfare bill rather personally."
Immigrant rights activists called the gift unprecedented, not only for its enormity but for its symbolism at a time when the United States seems to have declared war on its immigrant masses. It is estimated that at least 1 million legal immigrants stand to lose benefits once the month-old legislation is fully applied.
"Instead of pulling up the ladder, he has extended the ladder. ... It is a tremendous symbol of hope to the immigrant community when they feel most beleaguered," said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum in Washington. "In the immigration field, if you added up all the (private) money given to foundations in the last 10 years, I'm not sure it would exceed $50 million."
Soros said the Emma Lazarus Fund, named for the poet who wrote the welcoming words etched on the Statue of Liberty, will be the vehicle for helping legal immigrants become citizens, making them again eligible for government benefits the legislation revokes. It would pay the $95 application fee for citizenship and assist community groups in providing English-language instruction and other services necessary to qualify for naturalization.
Details of the disbursement are far from settled. Soros admittedly was more interested in taking up the fight than in worrying about the fine points of grant-making.
"Clearly, this dollar amount, if used properly, could make a big impact," said Rosalind Gold, director of policy research at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, a nonprofit group that facilitates naturalization. "We have learned that often the barrier to becoming a U.S. citizen is not a lack of desire, but the fact that the process is very bureaucratic and needs to be demystified."
The gift is the latest of many altruistic deeds by a 66-year-old financier who has influenced nations with his wealth. Since 1985, he has poured more than $350 million into Eastern and Central Europe. In 1993 alone, he pumped more money into the countries of the former Soviet Union than did many Western governments. His Open Society Institute is parent to a network of foundations that operate in 24 countries, including Haiti and South Africa, to promote free societies.
But his philanthropy in his adopted United States, where he made his riches as a speculator in financial markets, had been modest until President Clinton signed the welfare bill eliminating Supplemental Security Income, food stamps and most other federal benefits for legal immigrants who are not citizens.
Immigrant rights activists called the gift unprecedented, not only for its enormity but for its symbolism at a time when the United States seems to have declared war on its immigrant masses. It is estimated that at least 1 million legal immigrants stand to lose benefits once the month-old legislation is fully applied.
"Instead of pulling up the ladder, he has extended the ladder. ... It is a tremendous symbol of hope to the immigrant community when they feel most beleaguered," said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum in Washington. "In the immigration field, if you added up all the (private) money given to foundations in the last 10 years, I'm not sure it would exceed $50 million."
Soros said the Emma Lazarus Fund, named for the poet who wrote the welcoming words etched on the Statue of Liberty, will be the vehicle for helping legal immigrants become citizens, making them again eligible for government benefits the legislation revokes. It would pay the $95 application fee for citizenship and assist community groups in providing English-language instruction and other services necessary to qualify for naturalization.
Details of the disbursement are far from settled. Soros admittedly was more interested in taking up the fight than in worrying about the fine points of grant-making.
"Clearly, this dollar amount, if used properly, could make a big impact," said Rosalind Gold, director of policy research at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, a nonprofit group that facilitates naturalization. "We have learned that often the barrier to becoming a U.S. citizen is not a lack of desire, but the fact that the process is very bureaucratic and needs to be demystified."
The gift is the latest of many altruistic deeds by a 66-year-old financier who has influenced nations with his wealth. Since 1985, he has poured more than $350 million into Eastern and Central Europe. In 1993 alone, he pumped more money into the countries of the former Soviet Union than did many Western governments. His Open Society Institute is parent to a network of foundations that operate in 24 countries, including Haiti and South Africa, to promote free societies.
But his philanthropy in his adopted United States, where he made his riches as a speculator in financial markets, had been modest until President Clinton signed the welfare bill eliminating Supplemental Security Income, food stamps and most other federal benefits for legal immigrants who are not citizens.
"This
is a clear-cut case of injustice and is contrary to this country's
proud tradition of welcoming immigrants," Soros said in written remarks,
noting that legal immigrants serve in the military and pay taxes. "I
believe this proud tradition needs to be preserved in order for the
United States to survive as a great nation and an open society."
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