WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th September, 2021) A brief filed by a coalition of advocacy groups urges the Supreme Court to extend a benefits program for adults and children with disabilities - which Congress limited to 50 states - to the US territory of Puerto Rico, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said on Thursday.
"The groups' 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 [Supplemental Security Income] 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 � leaving this group without equal protection under the law," the ACLU said in a press release.
The SSI program provides monthly payments to adults and children with blindness or other disabilities who have income and resources below set financial limits.
The case stems from an attempt by the US Social Security Administration, which administers the SSI program, a lawsuit seeking to recover $28,000 paid to a resident of New York after the resident moved to Puerto Rico. Lower courts have previously ruled that the defendant can keep his benefits, the release added.
The ACLU was joined in the brief by the group's Puerto Rico affiliate, as well as the racial justice groups Demos, Equally American, and the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, according to the release.
