Winehole23
03-07-2026, 04:20 PM
She got her Medicare back, but Ms. Rakestraw's SSI hasn't been restored, so now she has no income
A Texas woman and U.S. native who has spent years battling severe diseases is fighting to get her social benefits back from federal officials who removed them after challenging her citizenship.
Ramona Rakestraw was born in 1966 in Dallas County, Texas.
The 59-year-old was stricken with kidney disease at age 28. She received a transplant, but in 2024, she was diagnosed with cancer.
https://atlantablackstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Untitled-design-5.webpRamona Rakestraw was born in Dallas County, Texas, but had her Social Security benefits revoked after federal officials questioned her U.S. citizenship. (Photo: Screenshot/KDFW)
She’s enrolled in Medicare Part B and has been receiving Supplementary Security Income (SSI) for years to support her through her illnesses, according to KDFW.
SSI benefits are distributed to people with disabilities or older adults who have little to no streams of income and no financial resources to fall back on.
In October 2025, both her SSI and Medicare benefits were halted, and she was told her immigration status was under review.
Although Rakestraw was born in the U.S. and has never once traveled or lived outside the country, federal officials still raised questions about her legal status.
“I am shocked,” Rakestraw said (https://www.fox4news.com/news/dallas-native-cancer-patient-loses-ssi-benefits-after-government-questions-her-us-citizenship). “They told me my immigrant status was being questioned, and so I said, ‘I’m not an immigrant.’”
Her Medicare coverage was later restored, but her SSI benefits were not.
Rakestraw took her identification and birth certificate to her local Social Security Office to clear up the issue.
She later received a letter from the federal agency stating: “We cannot pay you benefits because you are not lawfully present in the U.S.”
“That’s my income, my whole income,” she said.
https://atlantablackstar.com/2026/03/06/black-woman-born-in-u-s-and-battling-cancer-has-social-security-benefits-revoked-after-federal-agency-says-she-was-not-lawfully-present-in-the-country/
A Texas woman and U.S. native who has spent years battling severe diseases is fighting to get her social benefits back from federal officials who removed them after challenging her citizenship.
Ramona Rakestraw was born in 1966 in Dallas County, Texas.
The 59-year-old was stricken with kidney disease at age 28. She received a transplant, but in 2024, she was diagnosed with cancer.
https://atlantablackstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Untitled-design-5.webpRamona Rakestraw was born in Dallas County, Texas, but had her Social Security benefits revoked after federal officials questioned her U.S. citizenship. (Photo: Screenshot/KDFW)
She’s enrolled in Medicare Part B and has been receiving Supplementary Security Income (SSI) for years to support her through her illnesses, according to KDFW.
SSI benefits are distributed to people with disabilities or older adults who have little to no streams of income and no financial resources to fall back on.
In October 2025, both her SSI and Medicare benefits were halted, and she was told her immigration status was under review.
Although Rakestraw was born in the U.S. and has never once traveled or lived outside the country, federal officials still raised questions about her legal status.
“I am shocked,” Rakestraw said (https://www.fox4news.com/news/dallas-native-cancer-patient-loses-ssi-benefits-after-government-questions-her-us-citizenship). “They told me my immigrant status was being questioned, and so I said, ‘I’m not an immigrant.’”
Her Medicare coverage was later restored, but her SSI benefits were not.
Rakestraw took her identification and birth certificate to her local Social Security Office to clear up the issue.
She later received a letter from the federal agency stating: “We cannot pay you benefits because you are not lawfully present in the U.S.”
“That’s my income, my whole income,” she said.
https://atlantablackstar.com/2026/03/06/black-woman-born-in-u-s-and-battling-cancer-has-social-security-benefits-revoked-after-federal-agency-says-she-was-not-lawfully-present-in-the-country/