Washington— A Trump administration proposal to deny green cards to legal immigrants using public assistance “will dramatically change the legal migration process and make it increasingly difficult for low-income and working-class people to legally migrate to United States”.
That’s the view of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities, according to comments they filed in response to proposed revisions to the so-called ‘public charge’ rule. .
They urged the Department of Homeland Security to drop the proposed rule and return to “the current and longstanding interpretation of public charge” and outlined several reasons for opposing the rule change.
It will “undermine family unity and stability,” “harm low-income and working-class families, and “negatively impact the social safety net.”
“The rule will have serious consequences for public health and is detrimental to large families,” they said. “The rule proposes a definition of ‘public charge’ and ‘public benefit’ that is arbitrary and will make people less empowered … and proposes a public charge system that will create grounds for denying virtually all immigration applications.”
The full text of the 447-page proposal, titled “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds,” is posted on the Department of Homeland Security’s website and can be viewed here.
When announced, a DHS press release said the proposal was intended to “clearly define long-standing law to ensure that those seeking to enter and remain in the United States, temporarily or permanently, can to their financial needs and will not be dependent on public benefits.”
Federal law has always required those applying for green cards — permits that allow immigrants to live and work permanently in the United States — to prove they won’t be a burden on the U.S. government, but it doesn’t. Never considered using public benefits, such as food stamps or housing vouchers, in its decision to issue the cards.
The action could force millions of immigrants who depend on public assistance for food and shelter to choose between accepting financial assistance in the form of Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms public assistance, or apply for a green card to live and work legally. in the USA.
“Public charge refers to a factor considered in the process of admitting individuals to the United States or allowing immigrants to adjust their status and become a lawful permanent resident,” the USCCB and Catholic Charities in a December 3 press release.
“For many years, the analysis of public burdens focused on the receipt of public cash assistance or long-term hospitalization, or similar care, which made an individual financially dependent on the government”, they said. “Food and housing aid has not been taken into account.”
When the proposal was announced in late September, the chairs of two USCCB committees said the administration’s action “undermines decades of administrative policies and guidelines for how immigrants are treated by the United States government.” United States”.
Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the U.S. Episcopal Committee on Migration, and Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Florida, chairman of the U.S. Episcopal Committee on Homeland Justice and Human Development, said the proposed rule “further reinforces the strict eligibility guidelines already in place preventing many immigrants from receiving federal assistance.”
They said that in an “initial analysis” of the proposed just release rule “it appears it will be very detrimental to families, instilling fear among immigrant families who are already struggling to achieve the American dream.”
They also said the action was likely to “prevent families from accessing important medical and social services vital to public health and welfare”.
Jeanne Atkinson, outgoing executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, said the administration has fallen “to a new level of cruelty with this proposal to punish immigrants who use government assistance to feed, provide medical care and house their families”.
The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on October 10, with a 60-day comment period until December 10. After that, the administration will consider the feedback it receives to publish its final rule.
