Three states filed a lawsuit against the federal government over a new rule that makes it harder for immigrants who use public assistance including food stamps, Medicaid, and other welfare benefits to obtain green cards and permanent residency.
The states suing the Trump administration are New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. New York City also filed a lawsuit as well.
The move is widely seen as another move by the Trump administration to limit legal immigration to the US from poorer, non-white countries.
When asked by the press if the new rule flies in the face of the “American ethos”, US immigration chief Ken Cuccinelli said the poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty was about “people coming from Europe”, who can “stand on their own two feet”, and “who will not become a public charge”.
In actuality, the poem mentions none of those things and simply says “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”
Another 15 states have already filed suits against the federal government over the change in US immigration law that would restrict those who use social programs from gaining citizenship or permanent residency.
The US government under Trump has made many similar changes to limit the amount of both legal and illegal immigration.
His administration recently issued an order to shut down all of the overseas US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices, including the Southeast Asian USCIS office located in Bangkok.
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