8 U.S.C. § 1621 : US Code - Section 1621: Aliens who are not qualified aliens or nonimmigrants ineligible for State and local public benefits

Search 8 U.S.C. § 1621 : US Code - Section 1621: Aliens who are not qualified aliens or nonimmigrants ineligible for State and local public benefits

(a) In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided
in subsections (b) and (d) of this section, an alien who is not - 
(1) a qualified alien (as defined in section 1641 of this
title),
(2) a nonimmigrant under the Immigration and Nationality Act [8
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.], or
(3) an alien who is paroled into the United States under
section 212(d)(5) of such Act [8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)] for less than
one year,
is not eligible for any State or local public benefit (as defined
in subsection (c) of this section).
(b) Exceptions
Subsection (a) of this section shall not apply with respect to
the following State or local public benefits:
(1) Assistance for health care items and services that are
necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition (as
defined in section 1396b(v)(3) of title 42) of the alien involved
and are not related to an organ transplant procedure.
(2) Short-term, non-cash, in-kind emergency disaster relief.
(3) Public health assistance for immunizations with respect to
immunizable diseases and for testing and treatment of symptoms of
communicable diseases whether or not such symptoms are caused by
a communicable disease.
(4) Programs, services, or assistance (such as soup kitchens,
crisis counseling and intervention, and short-term shelter)
specified by the Attorney General, in the Attorney General's sole
and unreviewable discretion after consultation with appropriate
Federal agencies and departments, which (A) deliver in-kind
services at the community level, including through public or
private nonprofit agencies; (B) do not condition the provision of
assistance, the amount of assistance provided, or the cost of
assistance provided on the individual recipient's income or
resources; and (C) are necessary for the protection of life or
safety.
(c) "State or local public benefit" defined
(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), for purposes of
this subchapter the term "State or local public benefit" means - 
(A) any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or
commercial license provided by an agency of a State or local
government or by appropriated funds of a State or local
government; and
(B) any retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or
assisted housing, postsecondary education, food assistance,
unemployment benefit, or any other similar benefit for which
payments or assistance are provided to an individual, household,
or family eligibility unit by an agency of a State or local
government or by appropriated funds of a State or local
government.
(2) Such term shall not apply - 
(A) to any contract, professional license, or commercial
license for a nonimmigrant whose visa for entry is related to
such employment in the United States, or to a citizen of a freely
associated state, if section 141 of the applicable compact of
free association approved in Public Law 99-239 or 99-658 (or a
successor provision) is in effect;
(B) with respect to benefits for an alien who as a work
authorized nonimmigrant or as an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act [8
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.] qualified for such benefits and for whom the
United States under reciprocal treaty agreements is required to
pay benefits, as determined by the Secretary of State, after
consultation with the Attorney General; or
(C) to the issuance of a professional license to, or the
renewal of a professional license by, a foreign national not
physically present in the United States.
(3) Such term does not include any Federal public benefit under
section 1611(c) of this title.
(d) State authority to provide for eligibility of illegal aliens
for State and local public benefits
A State may provide that an alien who is not lawfully present in
the United States is eligible for any State or local public benefit
for which such alien would otherwise be ineligible under subsection
(a) of this section only through the enactment of a State law after
August 22, 1996, which affirmatively provides for such eligibility.