Trump Administration Tightens Rule That Could Deny Green Cards, Citizenship
to Immigrants Who Need Public Assistance
By Hamed Aleaziz, BuzzFeed
12 August 19
The new policy, long in the works, will reshape the immigration system.
The Trump administration introduced a sweeping policy Monday that will allow
the government to deny permanent residency to immigrants who use or are
likely to use public benefits, such as food stamps, housing vouchers and
Medicaid.
The policy will take effect in about two months, according to the policy
published in the Federal Register. The proposed version of the rule was
released in September, and it received more than 260,000 public comments
online, many of which were critical.
"While some commenters provided support for the rule, the vast majority of
commenters opposed the rule," the register said.
The policy is the latest proposal by the Trump administration aiming to
restrict immigration, and will likely face swift legal challenge.
The Immigration and Nationality Act has long allowed the government to
reject granting permanent residency to immigrants who were determined to be
a financial burden on society or a "public charge" meaning theyre
dependent on the government for financial support.
The new rule would alter how the government decides if someone is a public
charge, allowing officials to deny green cards to those who have used or
will likely use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP food
stamps], Section 8 housing vouchers and assistance, public housing, or most
forms of Medicaid.
This rule is the administration's attempt to unilaterally implement a broad
immigration reform. It will likely shift immigration away from Latin America
and towards Europe, while disproportionately disadvantaging women, children,
and the elderly, said Sarah Pierce, an analyst at the Migration Policy
Institute.
More than 4 million noncitizens were in families receiving SNAP benefits
between 2014 and 2016, according to an analysis done by the Migration Policy
Institute. More than 39 million people were enrolled in the program in June
2018, according to the Department of Agricultures most recent statistics.
It did not break out the numbers by immigration status.
For over a century, the public charge ground of inadmissibility has been
part of our nations immigration laws. President Trump has delivered on his
promise to the American people to enforce long-standing immigration law by
defining the public charge inadmissibility ground that has been on the books
for years, said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli.
Last year, researchers said the proposed version of the rule would have a
serious impact on immigrants, regardless of whether they were affected by
the policy.
Numerous studies, by MPI and others, have found the rule would result in
disenrollment from public benefits programs by many immigrants, including
those not directly affected by the rule, as well as U.S.-born dependents,
read a report released by the Migration Policy Institute. Already, there
are anecdotal reports by service providers of people disenrolling from
public benefit programs amid fear or confusion about the rule.
Advocates signaled on Monday that they are ready to sue over the new policy.
As a leading national organization fighting to advance and defend the
rights and opportunities of low-income immigrants, we will fight with every
tool we have available to ensure that everyone in our communities has the
freedom to thrive and the necessary resources to do so, said Marielena
Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, in a
statement. We look forward to seeing Trump in court again and to seeing
justice prevail as we defend immigrant families and our democracy.
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