{"id":10560,"date":"2018-08-11T09:40:21","date_gmt":"2018-08-11T15:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=10560"},"modified":"2018-08-31T09:59:32","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T15:59:32","slug":"are-you-a-public-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2018\/08\/are-you-a-public-charge.html","title":{"rendered":"Are you a public charge?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

The White House is, reportedly, based on the usual anonymous sources, about to publish, via the usual measures of such, a re-definition of what it means to be a \u201cpublic charge\u201d in such a way as to prevent immigrants who meet the new, more encompassing definition, from being able to move from temporary to permanent residency or from permanent residency to citizenship.\u00a0 Here\u2019s NBC News\u2019 reporting<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The Trump administration is expected to issue a proposal in coming weeks that would make it harder for legal immigrants to become citizens or get green cards if they have ever used a range of popular public welfare programs, including Obamacare, four sources with knowledge of the plan told NBC News.<\/p>\n

The move, which would not need congressional approval, is part of White House senior adviser Stephen Miller\u2019s plan to limit the number of migrants who obtain legal status in the U.S. each year.<\/p>\n

Details of the rulemaking proposal are still being finalized, but based on a recent draft seen last week and described to NBC News, immigrants living legally in the U.S. who have ever used or whose household members have ever used Obamacare, children\u2019s health insurance, food stamps and other benefits could be hindered from obtaining legal status in the U.S.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Washington Post<\/a> provides more context on the concept of the \u201cpublic charge\u201d:<\/p>\n

Currently, to be barred from entry, immigrants must arrive without funds and be judged unemployable, making them likely to become a public charge. To be removed after entry, immigrants must have received cash benefits from the government for \u201cgeneral maintenance\u201d or have experienced long-term institutionalization.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One question I\u2019ve seen clarified in neither report, nor others I\u2019ve read, is what sort of instances of \u201cgetting green cards\u201d we\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 Are the people affected, those who were not living here with temporary residency, such as a student or temporary employment visa, but instead those who are living here illegally and have found their own \u201cpath to citizenship\u201d \u2013 e.g., by marrying an American citizen or otherwise finding a loophole?<\/p>\n

Now, I think it goes without saying that it\u2019s wrong to penalize an individual who thought he was playing by the rules, when instructed to apply for Obamacare, for instance, for members of his family even if he himself isn\u2019t eligible. So what if the approach was changed so that this only applied prospectively?\u00a0 Certainly it would be a radical shift from the current approach in which immigrants are urged to apply for whatever benefits they, or any member of their family may be eligible for:\u00a0 food stamps, medical care, etc..\u00a0 What would the impact of such a change be?\u00a0 Would such families attempt to do without, and, if so, would this simply mean that they\u2019d have to spend more of their money on their own living expenses and send less of it back to their home countries, or would we see starving families?\u00a0 Or would families carry on as usual, with the threat of someday not getting that green card, or not being able to apply for citizenship, too distant to have any relevance?\u00a0 And, what\u2019s more, once upon a time, the evaluation of whether one would be a \u201cpublic charge\u201d would take place before admitting one to the country in the first place (and still does, to a minimal degree \u2014 my husband had to get a chest X-ray to prove he didn\u2019t have TB, for instance), but now we don\u2019t make admittance as a chain migrant, or a lottery winner, or the like, or the granting of a green card, contingent on having the ability to support a family, for instance, by requiring knowledge of English or specialized job skills or education.\u00a0 Would any prospective immigrant be able to assess, \u201ccan I get a job which will allow me to support a family?\u201d in deciding whether to immigrate?<\/p>\n

What\u2019s trickier, though, is that we don\u2019t really have a good means of drawing a line between \u201cwelfare\u201d and \u201cgovernment benefits that require a low-ish income for eligibility.\u201d\u00a0 TANF, yes.\u00a0 SSI, yes.\u00a0 Food Stamps, yes.\u00a0 Section 8, sure.\u00a0 But what about Obamacare, which provides subsidies up to middle class-ish income levels?\u00a0 Or Medicaid, considering that\u00a0it is simply the form of healthcare provision if you have a low income?\u00a0 (No, you can\u2019t buy your policy on the exchange with subsidies instead; if your income is too low, it\u2019s Medicaid or nothing.)\u00a0 What about Pell Grants, or subsidized student loans?\u00a0 What about the EITC?\u00a0 Hypothetically, what about the multitude of proposals such as the so-called \u201cMedicare for All\u201d or subsidies for childcare or parental leave benefits?\u00a0 When the government gets involved in providing benefits to a growing share of the population, when means-tested benefits extend quite a bit beyond people living in poverty, and when those benefits are provided to people who are gainfully employees, just at low wages, there just isn\u2019t a bright line, an obvious cut-off between \u201cwelfare\u201d and other government benefits.<\/p>\n

And beyond all that, this is another indicator of legislation which simply leaves too much to the discretion of the administration via rule-making.\u00a0 It should not be left to the Trump administration, or the Haley administration or the Sanders administration, to decide what it means to be a \u201cpublic charge.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s a part of the job of writing legislation to write it in clear terms rather than leaving the ultimate decision-making to others.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Image:\u00a0\u00a0By Lewis W. Hine(Life time: 1874-1940) \u2013 Original publication: Photo-studyImmediate source: Brooklyn Museum, Public Domain, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=51292180.\u00a0 I find this image striking, since it seems to be a common one chosen to illustrate how anxious immigrants were, how little they came to the U.S. with \u2013 but the caption totally changes the narrative.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The White House is, reportedly, based on the usual anonymous sources, about to publish, via the usual measures of such, a re-definition of what it means to be a \u201cpublic charge\u201d in such a way as to prevent immigrants who meet the new, more encompassing definition, from being able to move from temporary to permanent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":10842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[46,299],"class_list":["post-10560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-immigration","tag-welfare"],"yoast_head":"\nAre you a public charge?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The White House is, reportedly, based on the usual anonymous sources, about to publish, via the usual measures of such, a re-definition of what it means\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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