Detractors fear widespread damage due to Trump's "public office" rule

Experts warn that the Trump administration's "public office" rule that associates the legal status of immigrants with their use of public benefits will have a profound impact on health care coverage and the country's safety net.

The last rule, announced earlier this month and expected to come into effect Oct. 15, is aimed at immigrants trying to enter the United States or those already living there who are trying to get a green card.

Under the rule, any immigrant who receives one or more designated public benefits for more than 12 months in a 36-month period will be considered a "public charge" and will likely be denied a green card by immigration officers.

The rule could significantly limit the number of people using social safety net programs.

Health and immigration experts and activists have said the final rule would act as a deterrent, even to people who are not directly affected, and could discourage permanent residents and even US citizens from renewing their candidacy or to ask for the benefits to which they are entitled.

"The goals of the public tax rule and the impacts on it are different," said Sara McTarnaghan, a researcher at the Urban Institute. "Because of fear or misinformation about what may be in the final rule, immigrant households can change their decisions about public benefits."

An urban institute study published in May found that 7% of adults in families where all non-citizens had a green card said they refused to enroll in a kind of benefit public such as Medicaid or food coupons, for fear of losing the future status of the green card. .

The same study found that 9.3% of people in families where all foreign-born members were naturalized also refused to participate in Medicaid, SNAP, or the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – although that the final rule does not apply to CHIP.

The new rule aims to make it more difficult for immigrants legally resident in the country to reside as permanent residents who have already used, or are likely to benefit from, public benefits such as food stamps, housing vouchers under Section 8 or Medicaid. .

The administration has already targeted a wide range of public programs as part of welfare reform.

Critics argue that the public tax rule distorts the debate on broader public aid programs in order to reduce support for otherwise popular programs.

Democrats have described this policy as a cruel attack against low-income immigrants.

"The rule will require hundreds of thousands of immigrants to choose between giving up basic assistance for food, housing and health care, or risking being separated from their families," said the chairman of the House committee on education and work. Bobby ScottRobert (Bobby) Cortez ScottDemocrats: Trump plan could jeopardize 500,000 free school lunches for children Legislators, press goes to court for charity tennis event House approves bill to increase minimum wage to one NEXT hour (D-Va) said in a statement.

The Conservatives are defending the rule as a way to reduce taxpayer spending.

"These programs are a major source of the budget deficits of our billions of dollars and the increase in our public debt. Why would we want to attract immigrants who will only add to this deficit and this debt? Heritage bloggers Hans von Spakovsky and David Inserra wrote in a blog.

And at a press conference to announce the rule, Ken Cucinelli (USCIS) described the rule as a way to ensure immigrants' self-sufficiency.

"Self-sufficiency is at the heart of America's long-standing value … It's part of the motivation for a rule like this," said Cucinelli.

Cucinelli said information about who is affected by the rule is clear and easy to find.

"Anyone who has any question of whether the receipt of a particular benefit would be taken into account … will be able to find it easily on our website," Cucinelli said at the meeting. information at the White House.

The rule does not explicitly apply to US citizens, even if the citizen is bound to an immigrant who would be subject to the requirements. It also explicitly exempts immigrants to whom asylum has been granted, legal permanent residents and refugees.

But experts said that even if only a small number of immigrants use public benefits, the real impact of the rule will be much broader.

Most legal immigrants are not eligible for SNAP and Medicaid until they get a green card. Even in this case, they must finish a waiting period of five years.

"The involvement of the [administration’s] The rhetoric is that there are huge groups of people taking advantage of the system, and that's just not true, "said Elaine Waxman, a senior fellow at Urban Institute.

"We're already seeing that enforcement rates are failing, and for programs like CHIP, where we know kids are not affected, but we can understand how an immigrant family errs on the side of caution," Waxman said.

Jerry Vitti, founder and CEO of Healthcare Financial, Inc., which connects vulnerable populations to public protection programs, said misinformation may play a major role in people's refusal to renew their Medicaid or SNAP registration.

Members of immigrant communities "do not know that [attorney generals] filed a complaint [to challenge the rule], they do not know that a bill in Congress [strip] resources to implement the policy, "said Vitti.

"They know what they hear on the street and … they do not get the right information and they default to the most fearful information."