Face of Nation : Ken Cuccinelli, the Trump administration’s acting head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, defended its new rule effectively barring legal immigrants on government benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid from becoming permanent residents by suggesting that the inscription on the Statue of Libertyshould read: “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet.”
In an interview Tuesday on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Cuccinelli repeatedly claimed that “it doesn’t seem like too much to ask.” He argued that “self-sufficiency is central to the American value set, and it’s also central to our immigration history.”“If they don’t have future prospects of being legal permanent residents without welfare, that will be counted against them,” he said.
When host Rachel Martin pressed him on exactly which immigrants would be welcome to the U.S., he replied: “All immigrants who can stand on their own two feet, [be] self-sufficient, pull themselves up by their bootstraps — again, as in the American tradition,” going on to cite “his Italian-Irish heritage.”
“Would you also agree that Emma Lazarus’ words etched on the Statue of Liberty, ‘give me your tired, your poor,’ are also part of the American ethos?” Martin asked, after noting that many immigrants throughout history have come to the U.S. “with nothing.”
“They certainly are,” Cuccinelli said. “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet, and who will not become a public charge.” Under the expanded definition, immigrants who are use government services like food stamps, Medicaid or housing vouchers would be considered a public charge — making them ineligible for a green card.
The policy change also adds to the factors the government would consider when evaluating an immigrant’s visa or green card application, including an applicant’s English proficiency, income level and health conditions. This could also further restrict legal immigration. Immigrant rights advocates have warned that the rule change could have a “chilling effect” and prompt eligible immigrants to avoid or unenroll in government services, even if they are not seeking green cards or visas.
