Tom Shanahan calls it an urban legend that won't die.

Glenda Dwight calls it unfair and not true.

That is, the perception that undocumented residents are using and abusing welfare benefits in Idaho and Magic Valley.

"It's unfair for people to say that," said Dwight, Region V Idaho Health and Welfare self-reliance supervisor in Twin Falls, at a meeting of the Hispanic Business and Professionals Network.

People who think that illegal residents are sucking up welfare benefits are running on emotion, not facts, she added.

Not a whole lot of people who are in the country illegally come into Health and Welfare offices to apply for benefits for themselves, said Shanahan, state Health and Welfare spokesman. "It's pretty rare." If they do come in, they are applying for their children, who may be eligible.

"And that is usually the case we see," he said.

Under state and federal regulations, undocumented residents cannot receive welfare benefits, such as Food Stamps, cash or Medicaid, which pays for medical services. However, if their children are American-born or have the required documentation, those children may be eligible, even if their parents are not.

Health and Welfare officials say welfare fraud by undocumented people is rare because of the many and stringent checks on information - make that, almost instant verification of the information that applicants are required to give, such as names and Social Security numbers, Shanahan said. "That's checked out immediately."

Those applying for benefits must show proof of citizenship or legal residence. Those accepted documents can include birth certificates, naturalization and immigration papers and passports, according to Health and Welfare regulations.

People who apply for benefits are asked to sign a declaration of citizenship or immigration status, which is verified by the Alien Status Verification Index through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"They have to have identity to prove who they are," Shanahan said.

Because undocumented residents can't receive welfare benefits, Health and Welfare doesn't track how many undocumented residents have applied, Shanahan said.

And if a child is granted welfare benefits and the child's parents aren't legal residents, the department doesn't keep track of how many of the parents came into apply for their children. The reason: The parents who are undocumented can't receive benefits so they aren't counted.

"But we do scrutinize the children to make sure they are legal," Shanahan said.

In those cases where applicants don't have acceptable residency documentation but their children are legal residents, Health and Welfare workers are prohibited by federal law to call immigration enforcement.

A note in Health and Welfare regulations says that Health and Welfare personnel can only know if a person is in the United States illegally if there is a deportation order or other lawful order to that affect.

Glenda Dwight - a longtime department employee - couldn't think of any local fraud case where undocumented residents wanted to collect benefits to which they were not entitled.

Statewide, Shanahan had the same problem remembering a fraud case involving an undocumented resident.

In some cases, undocumented residents may receive emergency medical services. For example, a pregnant woman may receive aid only for birth costs - not prenatal or postnatal care, Shanahan said.

The woman must still meet Medicaid requirements, such as being low-income.

A majority of the emergency medical aide for what are termed "ineligible aliens" goes for births.

Last year in Idaho, there were 1,196 such births at a average cost of $2,977, Shanahan said.

This also is a federal mandate. However, no one wants to see a woman give birth without help, he said.

The American-born child may be eligible for full benefits.

With immigration an issue as hot as a growing season, the federal government has not ratcheted up the regulations against undocumented residents. That's because government agencies know that undocumented residents are not abusing welfare benefits, said Alex Castaneda, a Twin Falls real estate agent involved in many community groups.

"People just need to look at the information," he said.

On average, about 70 percent of the benefits are paid by the federal government and the rest is by the state.

Food Stamp benefits are all paid by the federal government with the feds and state both paying for administration.

Even if an immigrant is in the United States legally, there is a five-year wait on Medicaid and welfare benefits.

The only exception is refugees, who may be arriving with no possessions. They are handled on a case by case basis, Shanahan said.