#public charge

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Trump administration revives 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

Gisela Salomon at AP:

MIAMI (AP) — 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 policy was first implemented in February 2020 as one of President Donald Trump’s moves to limit legal immigration during his first administration, but it was reversed after Democratic President Joe Biden came to power. Its return comes when the Republican administration is implementing a hard-line policy to curb both illegal and legal immigration, and when the cost of healthcare and food is rising. 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. While the administration’s crackdown on immigration 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.

The rule expands disqualification options

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.

Trump Regime revives its xenophobic public charge rule it enacted during his first term by denying green cards to immigrants who use public benefits such as SNAP and Medicaid.

[ecc-poetry]

nuevo coloso / public charge (al modo de emma lazarus y ken cuccinelli)

Mi nombre es madre de exiliades. Levanto la lámpara al lado de la puerta dorada.

Soy el relámpago aprisionado. La mano lo acuna gentilmente, y los ojos ciegos se fijan al mar— porque no se sabe ni el día ni la hora.

Vengan, mis amores: cansades, pobres, y desdichades. Les lavo las pies y beso a sus niñes. Les unjo a ustedes con óleo. Pueden suspirar aquí.

Bring me your tried and your pale who can stand on the shoulders of huddled

masses. Bring me a statue hollow of need, something for tourists to climb astride and behold the sea.

How can you say that's not suffering? Have you counted those stairs? Bring me your chargeless, your unsoiled. Bring me conquering limbs and brazen giants.

-elisa chavez

The Miss Translated poems are a meditation on identity, language, and the things that get lost in translation. If you like my work, you can tip me on Ko-Fi or support me on Patreon.

[autisticadvocacy]

SUPREME COURT RULING ON PUBLIC CHARGE WILL HARM THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY - AAPD

The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to allow the Trump administration’s discriminatory public charge rule to go into effect. Following the ruling, the American Association of People with Disabilities issued the following statement from President and CEO Maria Town.

“The immediate and real-world effect of this week’s Supreme Court ruling to lift the nation-wide injunction on the discriminatory ‘public charge’ rule will be particularly devastating for immigrants with disabilities and their families."

[zoofrmjc]

Jersey City to amend police use of force policies, form ad hoc committee to review

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop states on upcoming changes to the City's "Use od Force" policies following a resolution for an ad hoc committee.

In the wake of recent events, the city of Jersey City is taking on a step forward in the fight against police brutality in their department. In recent talks during the city council meeting, when council president councilmen Joyce Watterman sought to form a committee that strictly dedicates its time to review the state of police policies and procedures on enforcement and discrimination in Jersey City.

I think this is an amazing idea for the city to implement into its system for dramatic change. Jersey City had its own share of excessive force incidents involving police officers and African Americans citizens on the city's south sides. If the city is able to bring in community members to be apart of the review committee, police and public relations would work coincide with each other to build a greater future in our neighborhoods.

[justsomeantifas]

tomorrow, Dec. 10, is the last day to submit a comment about a rule change the trump administration is trying to put out. (look for the link in the replies since tumblr wont let you search anything with outside links)

the rule change is about who gains citizenship. they want to make it so that if you’re an immigrant, and you have ever had any sort of government benefits, you would become ineligible for citizenship. this is coming at a time where the administration has made multiple moves to end birthright citizenship, not to mention all the things going on with ICE and undocumented immigrants.

and by government benefits i literally mean ANY government benefits. your kid qualifies for free/reduced lunch in public school? THAT COUNTS. medicaid? THAT COUNTS. food stamps? THAT COUNTS. it’s a terrifying and bullshit rule change that is nothing but malice, which is honestly their whole agenda. so at the very LEAST submit a personalized comment.

[canonizedandotherwise]

Loving Father, Protect, we pray, all those forced from their homes by violence and persecution, guide them to places of shelter and safety, and grant that people migrate always by choice and not necessity. Watch over children who migrate alone, protect them from the risks they face all by themselves, help them reach their destination safely, and reunite them with those from whom they have been separated. Guide all migrants who seek a better life, to new opportunities, and grant them a new beginning. We beseech you to give each of us the strength and generosity to welcome the stranger and to open our homes to the newcomer, and in doing so to comfort those who are suffering. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen

[ppaction]

Trump’s Cruel “Public Charge” Rule Would Harm Millions of Immigrant Families

It’s an inhumane attempt to deny immigrants access to health care, housing, and food.

In October, the Trump-Pence administration issued a proposed regulation known as the “public charge” rule. The rule would jeopardize immigrants' ability to stay in the U.S. if they’d used public benefits they’re legally allowed to access. Simply having accessed health care coverage, nutrition assistance, or public housing could mean they’d be denied visas, green cards, and entry into the country.

This policy is cruel and inhumane.

By linking people’s immigration status to whether they’ve used public benefits, the “public charge” rule would cause extreme harm to immigrants across the country — including documented and undocumented families alike.

What Would the “Public Charge” Rule Do?

Trump’s proposed rule would make a number of changes to U.S. immigration law. The rule would expand the government’s power to look at whether someone who’s applying for a visa, green card, or entry into the country has accessed public benefits —  so that this information could be used against them.

Someone could be penalized for having used:

Medicaid in order to meet their health care needs;

Food assistance programs like SNAP to feed their families;

Public housing benefits to ensure their families are safe.

The public charge rule would also penalize anyone who meets criteria that the government considers would make them LIKELY to use public benefits. That includes someone with a poor credit history, limited education, or a medical condition that requires extensive medical care or could interfere with their ability to go to work or school. Even a person’s limited English proficiency would count as evidence against them under the rule.

Ultimately, the rule would empower the government to prioritize wealthy immigrant families over families with low incomes who have waited years to be reunited.

How Would the "Public Charge" Rule Affect the Health of Immigrant Families?

If the “public charge” rule goes into effect, its harms would be serious and wide-ranging. It would directly affect nearly a million immigrants in the U.S. — in addition to millions more people living overseas who are trying to gain legal status in the country. Most of the immigrants that would be forced to pass the new “public charge” test have family members that are U.S. citizens, so the rule would add yet another obstacle to keeping families together.

Already, the “public charge” rule has caused widespread fear and confusion for all immigrants — including the 23 million noncitizens living in the U.S., which includes U.S.-born children of immigrant parents. Even before the rule was announced, immigrant communities had been avoiding essential public services, such as nutrition and health programs, out of fear of drawing scrutiny from the government.

The proposed “public charge” rule would make this problem much worse. It would force immigrant families to choose between permanent legal status and their ability to access basic needs like health care.

The combined effect would be incredibly harmful to the health and well-being of immigrants, their families, and the communities they live in. We’re likely to see large declines in Medicaid enrollment, a program that provides access to care and financial security for families with low incomes. This will mean worse health outcomes and less financial stability for millions of immigrant families, which would be worsened by losing access to affordable housing and food.

How Can I Help Oppose it?

You can tell the Trump-Pence administration that its proposed “public charge” rule is cruel, inhumane, and must be rejected. The administration is collecting input from the public until December 10, 2018. Leave a comment now to demand that the administration withdraw the rule.

[sarcasticcynic]

Federal judges block new Trump public charge rule

"The Rule will expose individuals to economic insecurity, health instability, denial of their path to citizenship, and potential deportation," he wrote.

Under federal law, the government can deny green cards, visas, and other forms of legal immigration status to “public charges.” The Department of Homeland Security defines a “public charge” as an immigrant who depends on “cash assistance or government-funded long-term institutional care.”

This definition isn’t nearly broad enough to cover all the brown people that Trump wants to kick out and keep out of the United States. So the administration has expanded the definition of “public charge” to include everyone it deems “likely to use at some point one public benefit for 12 months during a 36-month period.” (Receipt of two public benefits in one month counts as two months.) The administration also expanded the definition of forbidden “benefits” to include “food stamps, non-emergency Medicaid, certain prescription drug subsidies and housing vouchers.”

Under Trump’s new policy, non-citizens currently living and working in the United States legally would be subject to non-renewal and deportation whenever the Trump administration “deemed [them] likely to use at some point one public benefit.” Fortunately, two different federal courts have enjoined Trump’s new policy. In the words of one of the judges:

“Overnight, the Rule will expose individuals to economic insecurity, health instability, denial of their path to citizenship, and potential deportation. It is a rule that will punish individuals for their receipt of benefits provided by our government, and discourages them from lawfully receiving available assistance intended to aid them in becoming contributing members of our society.”

Trump will, of course, appeal immediately.