President Donald Trump’s administration unveiled a new immigration policy that could cause tens of thousands of poor Michigan migrants to stop using social service programs, despite very few being directly affected by the policy change.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced this week it will expand the criteria of what it means to be a “public charge,” an obscure term used in federal immigration law since 1882 that was never defined by Congress or through regulation. The new rule, slated to take affect Oct. 15 if it survives numerous legal challenges, would bar non-citizens from entering the United States if they’re deemed likely to use taxpayer funded benefits like food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized housing.
Immigrant rights organizations worry the Trump administration would substantially restrict access to green cards and various types of visas for poor immigrants. Worse, immigrant advocates fear a “chilling effect” from the rule will stop non-citizens who already have green cards from seeking benefits they are legally entitled to, impacting the health and well-being of families across Michigan.
The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimates 10.3 million non-citizens -- 3% of the U.S. population -- receive public benefits. In Michigan, 116,000 non-citizens receive public benefits included in the public charge rule, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
Michelle Mittelstadt, director of communications for MPI, said family members of non-citizens might disenroll from a public benefit out of fear the public charge rule will affect their relative. People already using social safety net programs have no reason for alarm, she said, but previous versions of the public charge policy leaked months ago have stirred confusion among migrant communities.
“Very few should directly be feeling an impact because most are already green card holders,” Middelstadt said. “Where the impact would be felt is indirectly because of the fear and confusion that will result in significant disenrollment.”
Seydi Sarr, founder of the Detroit-based African Bureau for Immigration and Social Affairs, said families are fearful. Her organization is working to educate migrants on the new policy, but Sarr said the concern is widespread and some are considering whether to keep using programs they depend on, like nutrition assistance for low-income children.
“Some are not going to take the risk and will just disenroll,” Sarr said.
There are an estimated 248,000 people living in the same home as an immigrant who benefits from a social program. That figure represents the upper limit of people who could decide to curb their use of benefits, Middelstadt said.
Researchers from the Fiscal Policy Institute came up with similar figures, estimating 24 million people across the U.S. and 283,000 in Michigan could be affected.
The new rule overturns the federal government’s approach since 1999, which did not consider someone who receives non-cash benefits like food stamps, Medicaid and housing subsidies as a public burden. That means fewer green cards will be issued in the future, Middelstadt said.
In a statement Monday, Trump said the new rule will protect American taxpayers, preserve the social safety net and ensure non-citizens living in the U.S. don’t abuse public benefit programs. Trump said the policy change is “long overdue," while speaking with reporters before heading to an event in Pennsylvania Tuesday.
“I don’t think it’s fair to have the American taxpayer paying for people to come into the United States,” Trump said. “I am tired of seeing our taxpayer paying for people to come into the country and immediately go onto welfare and various other things. So I think we’re doing it right.”
Later in Pennsylvania, Trump indicated his support for a merit-based immigration system while talking about the need for a wall on the southern border.
“We want people to come into our country,” Trump said. “They have to come in legally and we want them to come in through merit.”
DHS is revising its interpretation of a public charge to “better ensure that aliens subject to the public charge inadmissibility ground are self-sufficient" and don’t rely on public resources to meet their needs. Federal officials can now include things like credit score, income, age, medical history, health insurance coverage, employment history and education in their determination.
Demonstrating a household income of 250% of the federal poverty guideline is one positive consideration that would benefit a green card application.
A family of four would have to make $64,375 to clear that threshold. An MPI estimate found more than half of the legally present non-citizens who arrived in the last five years and 40% of U.S. citizens wouldn’t be able to meet the income standard.
Immigrants from Europe, Canada, Australia and India clear the 250% income threshold at a higher rate than non-citizens from other areas, according to an MPI analysis of DHS statistics.
Middlestadt said the change raises a question of whether the Trump administration is reshaping the composition of future immigration to the U.S. without having to go through Congress.
Tania Morris-Diaz, an attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, said the rule change represents a “radical shift" in what is considered in a public charge determination.
Under the 1999 standard, only 3% of non-citizens using benefits would qualify as being a public charge. That figure swells to 29% under the new standard, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
U.S. citizens and non-citizens use social safety net programs at close to the same rate, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. Researchers determined the new rule would apply to 28% of non-citizens and 29% citizens.
Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the rule change will ensure those who come to the country can support themselves. During an interview with NPR this week, Cuccinelli said an inscription on the Statue of Liberty welcoming immigrants into the country -- a powerful symbol of America’s commitment to the disadvantaged migrants -- is about “people coming from Europe."
Sarr said the new policy is the latest example of Trump 'tainting" immigration policies with his political agenda.
“Its another insult to the fact that you are black and an immigrant and you are already not deemed valuable,” Sarr said. “Now this is confirmed. This rule is actually to weed out poor and black migrants.”
DHS acknowledged the new rule “may make it more difficult for some aliens to become self-sufficient,” but that has no bearing on whether a person is a public charge now. DHS stated it shouldn’t change the term to allow non-citizens to rely on public benefits until they become self-sufficient.
The policy will become effective on Oct. 15 if it survives several legal challenges from 13 states and immigrant rights organizations. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined the lawsuit, filed this week.
Attorneys general argue the Trump administration unlawfully expanded the definition of “public charge."
Morris-Diaz said it’s not clear how the challenge will play out in the courts, which have been called on to check Trump’s executive power on several immigration issues already.
“With the past few years with this administration, if I’ve learned anything it’s that it’s hard to predict what is going to happen,” she said.
Some immigrants are exempt from a public charge determination, including refugees and asylum seekers.
Non-citizens who already have a green card would only be affected if they leave the U.S. for more than 6 months, or are otherwise seeking readmission into the U.S. The new rule does not apply when renewing a current green card or applying to become a U.S. Citizen.
Morris-Diaz said advocates are working hard to educate immigrant communities. She directed concerned migrants to contact lawyers at MIRC by calling (734) 239-6863.
“The immigrant community is living in a state of constant fear and anxiety and it is taking a toll on them and their family,” she said.