Washington, August 13: The United States of America administration announced new rules on Monday, aiming to deny permanent residency and citizenship to migrants who receive food stamps, Medicaid and other public welfare. With the new set of rules, hopes of millions of people - mostly Hispanic migrants - are now being threatened, as they work for low wages and depend in part on public services to get by.
The Donald Trump government, with the new set of rules for obtaining 'Green Card', is mulling closing the door for impoverished and low-skilled migrants outside the country hoping to legally obtain a foothold in the United States, reports global news agency Agence France-Presse. US House Holds Attorney General William Barr, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Contempt of Congress
Informing about the recent development and 'public charge' law, the White House announced that US administration if the migrants need public assistance, they would be blocked from entering the country. Along with this, this law also applies to migrants already staying in the US and using public services with a hope of acquiring green cards or US citizenship.
US President Donald Trump said in a White House statement, "To protect benefits for American citizens, immigrants must be financially self-sufficient." Adding more, the statement said, "Large numbers of non-citizens and their families have taken advantage of our generous public benefits, limited resources that could otherwise go to vulnerable Americans."
According to an estimate, the new rule would affect 22 million non-citizen legal residents of the country, and the estimated 10.5 million unauthorised immigrants, most of them-long-term residents.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2019 09:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).