Saturday, March 22, 2003
Aid is called core of new Hispanic center
GOP-backed office's aim is to help immigrants find services, officials say.
By COURTNEY PERKES
The Orange County Register
SANTA ANA --- Orange County Republicans, who have raised more than $100,000 to help immigrants in Santa Ana, hope a new nonprofit office will also bolster the party's image among Hispanics.
The Lincoln-Juarez Opportunity Center officially opens Friday and will begin providing free referrals for medical, immigration and other help. The center on Fourth Street will be run by a small paid staff and bilingual Republican volunteers.
Volunteers will help clients find services they need not recruit or talk politics, said John Cruz, an Irvine attorney and chairman of the center's board.
Across the state, the GOP would like to tap into a growing Latino population that traditionally identifies with the Democratic Party and help change an image tarnished by Proposition 187, which sought to end public services for illegal immigrants.
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"(b) REIMBURSEMENT OF GOVERNMENT EXPENSES.-
"(1) REQUEST FOR REIMBURSEMENT.-
"(A) REQUIREMENT.-Upon notification that a sponsored alien has received any means-tested public benefit, the appropriate nongovernmental entity which provided such benefit or the appropriate entity of the Federal Government, a State, or any political subdivision of a State shall request reimbursement by the sponsor in an amount which is equal to the unreimbursed costs of such benefit.
"(B) REGULATIONS.-The Attorney General, in consultation with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out subparagraph (A).
"(2) ACTIONS TO COMPEL REIMBURSEMENT.-
"(A) IN CASE OF NONRESPONSE.-If within 45 days after a request for reimbursement under paragraph (1)(A), the appropriate entity has not received a response from the sponsor indicating a willingness to commence payment an action may be brought against the sponsor pursuant to the affidavit of support.
"(B) IN CASE OF FAILURE TO PAY.-If the sponsor fails to abide by the repayment terms established by the appropriate entity, the entity may bring an action against the sponsor pursuant to the affidavit of support.
"(C) LIMITATION ON ACTIONS.-No cause of action may be brought under this paragraph later than 10 years after the date on which the sponsored alien last received any means-tested public benefit to which the affidavit of support applies.
"(3) USE OF COLLECTION AGENCIES.-If the appropriate entity under paragraph (1)(A) requests reimbursement from the sponsor or brings an action against the sponsor pursuant to the affidavit of support, the appropriate entity may appoint or hire an individual or other person to act on behalf of such entity acting under the authority of law for purposes of collecting any amounts owed.
"(c) REMEDIES.-Remedies available to enforce an affidavit of support under this section include any or all of the remedies described in section 3201, 3203, 3204, or 3205 of title 28, United States Code, as well as an order for specific performance and payment of legal fees and other costs of collection, and include corresponding remedies available under State law. A Federal agency may seek to collect amounts owed under this section in accordance with the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 37 of title 31, United States Code.