When do states grant social rights to noncitizens? I explore this question by examining the extension of Old Age Assistance (OAA) to noncitizens after the passage of the 1935 Social Security Act. While the act contained no alienage-based restrictions, states were permitted to bar noncitizens from means-tested programs. In 1939, 31 states had alienage restrictions for OAA. By 1971, when the Supreme Court declared state-level alienage restrictions unconstitutional, only eight states still did. States with more Mexicans and Asians were slower to repeal restriction, however. Using in-depth case studies of New York, California, and Texas, I demonstrate the importance of federal and state institutional arrangements and immigrant political power for the extension of social rights to noncitizens. I also show that to secure access to OAA, immigrant advocates adapted their strategies to match the institutional and political context.

中文翻译：

---

拯救我们的高级非公民：向美国移民提供老年援助，1935-71

国家何时授予非公民社会权利？我通过研究 1935 年社会保障法通过后将老年援助 (OAA) 扩展到非公民来探讨这个问题。虽然该法案不包含基于异化的限制，但允许各州禁止非公民参加经济状况调查计划。1939 年，31 个州对 OAA 有异化限制。到 1971 年，当最高法院宣布州一级的异化限制违宪时，只有八个州仍然这样做。然而，墨西哥人和亚洲人较多的州废除限制的速度较慢。通过对纽约、加利福尼亚和德克萨斯州的深入案例研究，我证明了联邦和州的制度安排和移民政治权力对于将社会权利扩展到非公民的重要性。我还展示了为了保护对 OAA 的访问，