The Trump administration is reviving a rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits.
The Trump administration is reviving a rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits that could include food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers and others.
The policy, known as “public charge,” appeared on Thursday in the Federal Register. It will be formally published on July 20 and take effect Sept. 18. Under the policy, applicants for green cards have to show they wouldn’t be burdens to the country or “public charges.
”The federal government “is reaffirming the requirement of self-reliance, protecting public resources and ending policies that encouraged dependency on the backs of hard-working American taxpayers,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a post published on its X account.
“Under President Trump, USCIS is restoring the basic principle that immigrants must be able to support themselves,” the post said.has an increased focus on deportations and immigration enforcement in cities across the country and at borders and entry points, it has also taken actions that target legal immigrants and mixed-status families, in which the parents are foreign nationals with U.S.-born children. Federal law already requires those seeking permanent residency or legal status to demonstrate that they will not become a public charge.
The Trump administration’s rule, however, broadens the grounds for disqualification. The new rule does not describe or specify by name the benefits and programs that could be considered a public charge. Instead, it says that officers who would implement the policy will make “individualized, fact-specific public charge inadmissible determinations, based on a totality of the alien’s circumstances.
” It says that, “using good judgment and discretion, officers will more accurately assess an alien’s likelihood at any time of becoming a public charge. ” The Trump administration first promoted the rule in 2018 as a way to ensure that only those who were self-sufficient came to the U.S. Immigrant rights advocates criticized it, saying it amounted to a “wealth test. ” Public health experts said it would lead to worse health outcomes.
Manatt Health, a group that provides advice to state and federal governments, estimated the policy would have deterred as many as 26 million people from seeking healthcare, food, housing or other aid through programs for which they qualified under federal law. About half were U.S. citizens, mostly children or adults living in a mixed-status family, according to the group. Experts also noted that most people who receive benefits from the government are already legal residents.
A 2020 study from the Migration Policy Institute said that while the “chilling effects” may be vast, the number of immigrants who could be deemed ineligible for legal permanent residence based on use of one of the public benefits under the rule was small. The institute estimated that no more than 167,000 people — less than 1% of the 22.1 million noncitizens residing in the United States at that time — could be determined ineligible for a green card based on their current use of a listed benefit.
Critics say the rule creates fear in the community Nongovernmental organizations said the policy generated confusion and fear and caused many immigrants and their U.S.-born relatives to decide not to apply for benefits and services to which they were entitled. Immigrant advocates condemned the government’s decision to revive the “public charge” rule and expressed concern.
“This regulation is a direct assault on immigrant families, and a threat to our country’s health and economic security,” said Adriana Cadena, executive director at the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition. “The Trump administration is basing immigration decisions on bias and politics, regardless of the resulting harm. ” Sarah Krieger, senior policy counsel at the National Immigration Law Center, said the rule would make immigrants afraid to go to the doctor, buy food at the grocery store and file taxes.
“With this new rule, they are sowing fear and chaos to ultimately reshape America into a country where only the few who are white and ultra-wealthy are welcome,” Krieger said. “The rule is not just deeply harmful, it also violates the law. ”California DMV reportedly suspects thousands of drivers cheated on written tests
Please follow us on Google to support usUnited States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump Goon Cornered Over Glaring Issue in Trump's $1.8B Slush FundSen. John Cornyn got Acting AG Todd Blanche to admit that it’s not quite as “dead” as it seems.
Read more »
Kai Trump Reveals The Path She Has No Interest In Taking As Donald Trump's GranddaughterKai Trump stands firm on this hot topic.
Read more »
Trump's teleprompter operator on unpaid leave for alleged prediction market bets on Trump speechesThe White House says President Donald Trump's teleprompter operator is on unpaid leave after reports that he used his inside knowledge to make bets about the president's speeches on the online prediction market Kalshi.
Read more »
Trump's teleprompter operator on unpaid leave for alleged prediction market bets on Trump speechesThe White House says President Donald Trump's teleprompter operator is on unpaid leave after reports that he used his inside knowledge to make bets about the president's speeches on the online prediction market Kalshi.
Read more »