Shmul Kaplan (A Penn Law VLA Production)

After living most of his life in Kazakhstan, Shmul Kaplan, a 70-year-old disabled Jewish survivor of the Nazi invasion of the Ukraine, applied successfully for asylum and began down the path to American citizenship. The journey was a long and arduous one because of protracted delays in the naturalization process. After seven years of waiting to become a citizen, Mr. Kaplan lost the SSI benefits on which he depended because of a time limitation in the law. He hung on for as long as he could by living on food stamps and $215 a month. Then he became the named plaintiff in a class action lawsuit brought against the U.S. Government. See how this courageous man helped himself and others realize their American Dreams.

Created for the Penn Law Documentaries & the Law Program.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• penn law
• documentary
• immigration
• shmul kaplan
• penn
• law
• pennlaw
• university of pennsylvania
• ssi