WASHINGTON D.C. (NEXSTAR) — The Trump Administration’s Public Charge Rule went into effect Monday. The rule makes it harder for some migrants to gain entry into the US.
The so-called Public Charge Rule could withhold green cards or visa renewals if an immigrant has received or is considered likely to receive too much public assistance.
“It reinforces and effectively reinstates the American legal tradition of self-sufficiency for people coming to live their lives with us here in America,” said Ken Cuccinelli.
Cuccinelli is the Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.
“The Public Charge Rule will filter out a small portion of people who apply for green cards,” said Cuccinelli.
The rule also considers other factors like age, income, and dependents. The Migration Policy Institute found that in the past five years, 69% of green card applicants had at least one factor that will now be considered negative.
“It’s deeply hypocritical,” said Brian Griffey with Amnesty International. “Under these same rules that the Trump Administration is implementing, President Trump’s own grandfather, his wife, his in-laws, would not have been able to become residents of this county.”
Critics of the rule said the change will hurt immigrants who need the benefits most, and could also hard the US economy.
“The US needs legal migrants coming here in order to continue the economic growth that we’ve seen,” said Griffey.
“The US economy doesn’t need more public charges,” said Cuccinelli. “A public charge is someone who is expected to be a cost to the taxpayers instead of standing on their own two feet.”
While the rule faces legal challenges, the Supreme Court is allowing it to go into effect in the meantime.
