Trump Administration Aims At Restricting Green Card Applications For People That May Need Government Assistance

One of the biggest arguments by President Trump is that people need to enter the U.S. the “right way.” His argument is that undocumented immigrants need to become citizens by getting in line just like everyone else. Okay fine. One of the ways immigrants can do this is by getting proper documentation like a Green Card. But now, the Trump Administration wants to make that process even harder than it is already.

In a new tactic aimed at saving money (at any cost), the Department of Homeland Security is proposing a new rule in which they would vet in-coming immigrants who are applying for a Green Card. If Homeland Security feels that applicants would also be applying for government assistance like welfare or public housing, their Green Card application could get denied.

Immigrants should not have to choose between getting their green card and accessing public services. This is downright immoral and cruel.https://t.co/Lol5LHTBqa

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 24, 2018

According to Vox, “the current ‘public charge‘ definition is so narrow that the government almost never rejects applications on those grounds. The Trump administration’s proposed new definition, on the other hand, would require a far-ranging inventory of an immigrant’s history and economic prospects. It would give enormous discretion to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers to reject an immigrant’s application for admission, or for a green card, because the officer feels the immigrant doesn’t make enough money to support a large family or doesn’t have the resources to provide health care for a preexisting condition.”

So all of this goes to show that the American dream is officially dead, or at least that is what Trump would like to do. The Trump Administration isn’t aiming at helping immigrants becoming citizens the legal way because they’re trying to stop them from applying for legal documents the right way. He is mostly interested in attaining immigrants that won’t be using government assistance. What makes this proposal even worse is that the government will somehow assume what an applicant will do or not do in the future. They have no way of knowing who will apply for government assistance. Some people have immigrated to the U.S. with nothing, and have never asked for a dime.