Following Vaello Madero ruling, lawsuit claims constitutional violations for rejection of island resident
friday, october 2, 2020 - 9:47 a.m.
https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/tribunales/notas/surge-una-nueva-lucha-por-el-ssi-a-nivel-federal-en-puerto-rico/
The U.S. government faces a new court battle in federal court for denying a resident of Puerto Rico the benefit of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
A lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) alleges that Arnold Jay Ruiz Aviles' rights were violated by not processing his SSI application at a time when an order was in effect in another similar case, which declared the exclusion unconstitutional based on residency on the Island.
For this reason, the lawsuit alleges that the SSA violated Ruiz Aviles' right to equal protection of the laws under the Due Process of Law clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ruiz Aviles' lawsuit adds to the number of cases alleging discriminatory treatment against residents of Puerto Rico.
"The SSA unconstitutionally denied the plaintiff's application submitted in April 2020, as well as the reconsideration submitted in June 2020, solely on the basis of his residency in Puerto Rico, even though Vaello Madero was clearly established and the law in effect," states the lawsuit, filed by pro bono attorney Isabel Abislaimán.
He was referring to the case of Luis Vaello Madero, a New York resident who moved to Puerto Rico without notifying the SSA, so he continued to receive SSI payments.
The federal government sued him to get the money back, since the SSI requirements state that the benefit is only for residents of the 50 states, Washington DC and the Northern Mariana Islands.
But Judge Gustavo Gelpí ruled on Feb. 4, 2019, that it is unconstitutional to exclude him from the benefit solely because of his residence in Puerto Rico. The ruling was upheld in the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston and it is now pending whether the U.S. Supreme Court will review the case.
In the case of Ruiz Aviles, there is no doubt that she is eligible in terms of her health, as she received SSI while living in New York between 1984 and 1985. Then, in December 1994, Ruiz Avilés moved with her parents to Caguas, where she currently receives Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare A and B, and the Nutritional Assistance Program (PAN).
Unlike Vaello Madero, Ruiz Aviles' ISS application on behalf of Ruiz Aviles was submitted while in Puerto Rico on April 15, 2020.
A few days later, she received a letter from the SSA denying the benefit. After asking for reconsideration, they received another letter in June stating the denial because "the laws to qualify for this benefit have not changed".
The following month, the parents sent a letter to the Federal Court, denouncing the denial, before the Vaello Madero case, but since it was already closed, the claim was referred by Gelpí to pro bono representation to be heard as a separate case.
The lawsuit argues that since the Vaello Madero case, the "SSA was ordered not to prevent eligible residents of Puerto Rico from applying for SSI benefits."
It adds that "the defendant (SSA) has acted in disregard of the plaintiff's constitutional rights and in violation of the court's explicit orders."
"All of the actions taken by the defendants have had the effect of systematically depriving the plaintiff of the rights secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States," he added, and denounced that Ruiz Aviles was discriminated against "solely on the basis of his residence in Puerto Rico".
In addition, he pointed out that the SSA's "de facto" administrative process uses an electronic system to apply for SSI that is "inoperative" for citizens living on the Island.
He denounced the deliberate rejection as "arbitrary and capricious, and a legal use of power with the sole intention of causing oppression and harassment to the nation's most vulnerable citizens".
For Ruiz Aviles, who is disabled, the lawsuit asks the judge to declare the treatment received as discriminatory and that "the defendants (SSA) were and are ordered to avoid discriminatory SSI measures since February 4, 2019, in light of the clear applicable law established" in the Vaello Madero case.
In that regard, it requests the court to order a payment of $783 per month retroactive to the period from April 15, 2020, for a total in excess of $3,915.
He also requests that he be allowed to continue receiving a monthly SSI payment in the amount of $783.
Finally, the lawsuit seeks a declaration that the SSA unconstitutionally and systematically deprived Ruiz Avilés of a mechanism to have his application evaluated.
Massachusetts Judge William Young, assigned to a case in San Juan, declared unconstitutional the exclusion of SSI, as well as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) and Low Income Subsidies (LIS) from Medicare Part D, which covers prescription drugs.