Immigrants with “green cards” could be turned down according to a new regulation issued by the Trump administration that states that if the person cannot be self-sufficient in the country he or she will be eligible for deportation.
The announcement was made today and it is not known how many families would be affected by this measure. However, the Latino community has great strengths, because it is the minority population that has most strongly grown in its affordability.
Of course, the rule will surely affect immigrants who wish to arrive to the U.S. because they will have to prove that they have the necessary resources to live in the country.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released Monday a version of the rule, which is designed to prevent low-income immigrants from arriving or staying in the country. However, the announcement does not precise the dollar budget that a family should have in order to apply for legal permanent residence in the United States.
In just over 48 hours the regulation will be officially published in the Federal Register on Wednesday and will take effect 60 days after its publication.
With this new rule, the United States will be able to determine whether the immigrant has become a “public charge” for the Administration; whether he or she “primarily dependent” on assistance from public funds to subsist, and then cancel his or her immigration status.
A person holding a permanent resident card or some type of visa obtained through legal channels could be affected by this measure if he or she cannot support his or her personal economy without government assistance.
According to reports in local media, some immigrant advocates have come up against this new rule, which they say would ” discriminate against those from poorer countries, keep families apart and prompt legal residents to forgo needed public aid they probably need to survive.”
These organizations also claim that the regulations would penalize work visa immigrants who need some public assistance on a temporary basis.
Another group that could be affected by the regulations would be elderly immigrants, because the low-cost prescription drugs they get through subsidized programs. They may also be forced to give up those aids or risk being considered a “public charge,” which would not allow them to keep their legal resident status.
The Trump government already proposed a regulation in September last year so that immigrants who legally receive public benefits, such as food stamps and housing vouchers, can be denied permanent residence.
The regulation announced this Monday is expected to face lawsuits in the coming days, so that its final implementation could be delayed for several months or not even occur if the U.S. Justice considers so.
Translated by: José Espinoza
Noticias Newswire
