Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) has cosponsored a bill introduced by Representative Judy Chu (D-CA) to block funding for implementation of the Trump Administration’s proposed public charge rule.
Released today and open to public comment for the next 60 days, the rule would impose new obstacles on those who wish to come to our country legally or seek legal permanent resident (green card) status. Current law already requires such people to meet a common-sense test to ensure that they would not be a burden on the public under a change in status. The Trump Administration would add more programs to this test, raising the barrier to legal immigration and causing harm to tax-paying immigrant families by leading them to avoid health care and nutrition services if they fear it would jeopardize their green card application.
“The Trump Administration’s intent is clear: telling immigrants once again that they are not welcome in this country and making the path to citizenship as hard as possible. This rule will lead many immigrant residents to go hungry, homeless, and without health care for fear of risking their future immigration status,” said Pingree. “Longstanding policies already ensure that immigrants will not be a public burden, making the Administration’s plan to impose new restrictions cruel, unnecessary, and unjust. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation to stop implementation of this senseless proposal.”
Current text of the bill is available here: https://chu.house.gov/sites/chu.house.gov/files/documents/Chu.HR7052.Public%20Charge.pdf
The proposed rule and link to comment are available here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/10/10/2018-21106/inadmissibility-on-public-charge-grounds.
