{"id":6610,"date":"2026-07-20T16:07:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=6610"},"modified":"2026-07-20T16:07:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:07:05","slug":"trump-administration-makes-it-harder-for-immigrants-on-public-assistance-to-get-green-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=6610","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration makes it harder for immigrants on public assistance to get green cards"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n The Trump administration is reviving an effort that will likely make it tougher for many immigrants to obtain green cards if they use or are deemed likely to need public benefits, such as food stamps, Medicaid or housing vouchers, in its latest attempt to curb legal immigration.\n <\/p>\n

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\n What\u2019s more, it could also have a \u201cchilling effect\u201d on hundreds of thousands of immigrant families, prompting them to disenroll from or not to apply for safety net programs that they \u2013 and particularly their US citizen children \u2013 are eligible to receive for fear of hurting their chances to be approved.\n <\/p>\n

\n The final rule, published Monday, allows immigration officers to take into account a wider array of public assistance programs when determining whether green card applicants will likely become \u201cpublic charges,\u201d which is one factor in the evaluation. It rescinds a 2022 Biden-era rule that excluded non-cash benefits from consideration.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cUnder @POTUS Trump, DHS is restoring the basic principle that immigrants must be able to support themselves,\u201d the Department of Homeland Security posted to X on Thursday. \u201cWe are reaffirming the requirement of self-reliance, protecting public resources, and ending policies that encouraged dependency on hard-working American taxpayers.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n About 588,000 applicants are subject to public charge reviews annually, on average, according to DHS. Historically, immigration officers only considered cash assistance, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Security Income from Social Security, when reviewing applications.\n <\/p>\n

\n The new rule is more expansive than a similar one that President Donald Trump\u2019s first administration put into effect in early 2020. The Biden administration revoked the earlier rule \u2013 which immigration advocates likened to a \u201cwealth test\u201d since it largely affected lower-income applicants \u2013 the next year.\n <\/p>\n

\n The rule focuses on people who already have legal status in the US. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for public benefits.\n <\/p>\n

\n The revived effort does not specify which safety net programs should be considered, saying only that DHS \u201cwill consider the receipt of any means tested public benefits,\u201d according to the rule.\n <\/p>\n

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\n That could potentially include a wider array of income-based assistance, such as childcare subsidies, Head Start and the Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as certain tax breaks, such as the child tax credit, said Maddie Geschu, director of policy and advocacy at the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition.\n <\/p>\n

\n Also, the new rule allows immigration officers to consider government benefits applied for on behalf of family members, including children who are citizens, Geschu told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n DHS acknowledges in the rule that individuals may choose not to enroll their citizen children in these programs to \u201cavoid negative consequences.\u201d When assessing immigrants\u2019 financial situations, officers may take into account whether members of applicants\u2019 households are receiving public benefits due to the applicants\u2019 low income.\n <\/p>\n

\n Immigration advocates quickly decried the new rule, which appeared in the Federal Register on Thursday and takes effect September 18. They blasted DHS for ignoring the multitude of comments that laid out the harm it would cause to immigrant families.\n <\/p>\n

\n The agency estimates that about 950,000 people may opt to leave or not enroll in six public benefits programs it examined, including Medicaid, food stamps, CHIP and federal rental assistance.\n <\/p>\n

\n All the federal nutrition programs are critical to supporting families who are struggling to put food on the table, Crystal FitzSimons, president of the Food Research & Action Center, told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe need to make sure that families who are eligible to participate in the federal nutrition programs are not afraid to participate in them,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re afraid we\u2019re going to see an increase in hunger, and kids won\u2019t have the food that they need to thrive.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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In its latest attempt to curb legal immigration, the Trump administration is reviving an effort that will likely make it tougher for many immigrants to obtain green cards if they use or are deemed likely to need public benefits, such as food stamps, Medicaid or housing vouchers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump administration makes it harder for immigrants on public assistance to get green cards - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=6610\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump administration makes it harder for immigrants on public assistance to get green cards - 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