PROVE U.S. CITIZENSHIP OR FORGET P.U.B. UTILITIES HELP

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

After she had lost her jobs cleaning houses when employers feared of a COVID-19 infection, Maria (not her real name) wondered how she and her family were going to pay for their rent, their food, or their utility bills.

She is a Mexican citizen and had been able to hook up on utilities years ago using her Mexican Consular Identification Card (Matricula Consular) and a letter from her landlord confirming she was renting from him. One of her two sons, also Mexican, works in a labor-intensive job and his earnings have kept them afloat since they were not eligible for state or federal assistance.

Up until now, although it was touch-and-go most every month, she had been able to pay her utility bills with PUB, sometimes making arrangements to pay in installments.

As a Brownsville Public Utility Board ratepayer, she was heartened when she heard that the board had bolstered their SHARE Program by $2 million to assist ratepayers whose jobs had been affected by the virus outbreak. After the Shelter in Place and Stay at Home orders, things just dried up.

When she called the company hired by PUB to screen applicants, she was stunned to hear that despite the board members saying that the assistance would go to all PUB ratepayers whose jobs were affected by the virus, she was told right out the gate that she would first have to prove her American citizenship.

"You don't have to be a citizen to be a PUB ratepayer," she said. "The announcement that the PUB made never mentioned that immigration status had anything to do with this assistance. Just people who pay their bills but whose jobs stopped because of that virus."\

Nonetheless, a call to the Community Action Corporation of South Texas (CACOST) which also implements the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) confirmed that the organization - which usually distributes state and federal funds for low-income individuals in Cameron and Hidalgo counties -  is screening applicants to the PUB SHARE program and rejecting those who can't provide proof of U.S. citizenship.

The PUB requires that an applicant produce  " a) Driver's License or, b) Other valid State/Government issued identification" to open an account. There is no mention of proof of citizenship given the large number of Mexican businesses and individuals who live in Brownsville and open accounts for their  residences or businesses.

When the PUB board agreed to hire CACOST to implement the SHARE program, they never intended the citizenship requirement to be included in their screening for assistance.

"Immigration status was never meant to be a requirement for SHARE like it is for CEAP," said Maria's neighbor, an English-speaking friend who is helping the family apply for the help.

"For that other program (CEAP) it is a requirement, but not for SHARE as long as they have a PUB account, they are supposed to qualify, " she said. 

CEAP, observers say, is a state program and only pays electric charges, but SHARE - if funds last - are PUB funds that can also be used to pay the water and sewer for ratepayers. There's a possibility that is someone does not qualify for CEAP, thy could qualify for SHARE.

But right off the bat, if the CACOST screeners on their own are determining that U.S. citizenship is a requirement to receive th PUB SHARE assistance, the program would be rejecting the most needy PUB ratepayers of all.

The response to the PUB SHARE program has overwhelmed the CACOST staff and the organization has  opened the office in McAllen to help their Harlingen office process the applications, PUB staffers say.

According to sources, PUB is paying CACOST 9 percent of the $2 million ($180,000) to administer the SHARE program. With the citizenship hurdle being applied, it is obvious that those ratepayers most in need will be left out in the cold despite the assurances of the PUB board or the City of Brownsville administration.