The Trump regime has published a new rule that will greatly expand the number of applicants who could have their green cards denied or removed if they so much as qualify for public assistance.
Republicans have long said that legal immigrants should not be allowed to access public assistance and should be punished if they do, but the Trump regime will go further than that by rejecting applications if they even qualify or might qualify for assistance in the future.
And as you might imagine, they're reaching very far back into obscure history to find an applicable law to support the new rules.
The sweeping 837-page measure builds on statutory language dating to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, later reaffirmed in 1952 in the Red Scare-inspired McCarren-Walter Act, that allows immigration officers to deny permanent residency or visas to people deemed likely to become a taxpayer burden. The statutes do not define explicitly what constitutes a “public charge,” but states that age, health, family status, financial resources, education and skills should be taken into account. [...]
The most closely-watched effect will be on immigrants applying to become permanent residents, a step that can lead to eventual citizenship. The Homeland Security Department estimated in the final rule that roughly 382,000 people seeking to adjust their immigration status could be subjected to a public charge review each year.
Can you imagine if immigrants from Europe in the first half of the 20th century who had nothing but the clothes on their backs were turned away because they were poor? Of course you can't, because they were white.
If we're going to say that immigrants below a certain income threshold don't deserve to become Americans, maybe we should apply that to the legions of red hat-wearing white voters who qualify for more assistance than immigrants ever will. Let's apply that standard to farmers who voted for Trump only to see him destroy their business and hand them a bailout.
The new rules were reportedly pushed by Trump's adviser Stephen Miller according to Politico and they will take effect in October unless blocked in court.