Democrat lawmakers call on Trump to withdraw rule limiting green cards for people on welfare

Kristi Noem calls green card lottery ‘dangerous’ after program’s suspension DHS Secretary Kristi Noem joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the suspension of the green card lottery due to crime, the U.S. pressure on Venezuela and more. More than 125 congressional Democrats are pushing the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed rule that would open the door to denying a person a green card if they use public assistance, including Medicaid or food stamps. "This proposal punishes families for caring for their children. It would scare parents away from health care, food assistance, and early education that U.S. citizen children are legally entitled to, putting kids at risk and destabilizing entire communities," Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said in a statement to The Hill. "Congress never intended public charge to be used this way, and we are demanding DHS withdraw this harmful proposal before it inflicts real and lasting damage on American families," Espaillat added. The Department of Homeland Security 's proposal would rescind a rule adopted in 2022 under the Biden administration that reinstated a long-standing but relatively narrow definition of "public charge." OVERWEIGHT FOREIGNERS SEEKING VISAS MAY BE REJECTED TO SAVE HEALTHCARE COSTS, TAXPAYER EXPENSE DHS' proposal would rescind a rule adopted in 2022 under the Biden administration that reinstated a long-standing but relatively narrow definition of "public charge." (Getty Images) The 2022 rule defined a "public charge" as someone "primarily dependent" on government assistance, particularly people receiving cash assistance for income maintenance or nursing home care at government expense. Most non-cash benefits such as Medicaid and food stamps did not count toward a public charge determination under that rule. DHS' new proposal argues that the Biden-ere policy is a "straitjacket" on immigration officers that prevents them from considering "all factors and information relevant to an alien’s likelihood at any time of becoming a public charge." Opponents of the Trump administration's proposed rule change fear it would open the door to widespread rejection of green cards for people who would otherwise qualify and that it would lead immigrants to not seek assistance they could qualify for over concerns that it could impact their green card applications. If the proposal is finalized, the Trump administration would not have a formal definition of what it means to be a public charge. This would give immigration officials broader discretion to consider a wider array of factors and potentially additional types of benefits in determining what constitutes a public charge, moving away from the narrow "primarily dependent" factor that was included in the 2022 rule. In urging the federal government to abandon the proposal, 127 Democrats said the rule would create "immediate and widespread uncertainty," according to The Hill. The Democrat lawmakers argue in formal comments that immigration officers would be forced to make a public charge determination with little guidance. DHS TO IMPOSE $1K FEE FOR MIGRANTS GRANTED HUMANITARIAN PAROLE DHS' new proposal argues that the Biden-ere policy is a "straitjacket" on immigration officers. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty...

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