This is one of those parts of the immigration system that should have been rigorously enforced for decades but the need for cheap, disposable labor by the Chamber of Commerce crowd pushed American interests into the background.

Legal immigrants who use public benefits — such as Medicaid, food stamps or housing assistance — could have a tougher time obtaining a green card or U.S. citizenship under a policy change announced Monday that is at the center of the Trump administration’s effort to reduce immigration.

The new policy for “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds,” which appeared Monday on the Federal Register’s website and will take effect in two months, sets new standards for obtaining permanent residency and U.S. citizenship. The Trump administration has been seeking to limit those immigrants who might draw on taxpayer-funded benefits, such as many of those who have been fleeing Central America, while allowing more highly skilled and wealthy immigrants into the United States.

Wealth, education, age and English-language skills will take on greater importance in the process for obtaining a green card, as the change seeks to redefine what it means to be a “public charge,” as well as who is likely to be one under U.S. immigration law.

Admin announces new "public charge" rule for assessing potential welfare use when looking at immigration applications.

@USCISCuccinelli stmt: "Throughout our history, self-sufficiency has been a core tenet of the American dream." pic.twitter.com/8SoCD0GHEA

— Nate Madden (@NateOnTheHill) August 12, 2019

Ken Cuccinelli says some of benefits not included in the changes are some assistances to pregnant women, mortgage loans and students loans. Bu benefits like food stamps, cash assistance and other benefits will count against immigrants. Refugees and asylum seekers aren’t impacted

— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) August 12, 2019

It is difficult for me to understand why we’d want to allow people into the country who are going to need long term public assistance. I’ve also never understood why a key part of our immigration policy has not been “If you have an advanced degree and speak conversant English, pack your bags and get on the plane.” But the massive change to current regulations seems like a wonderful start on making our immigration policy based on national need an not on creating a new dependent underclass of people who can’t fully participate in the nation’s civic and economic life while fully participating in access to free stuff.

The people who are truly unhappy about this make me convinced that it is a brilliant move. ThinkProgress, for instance, (our motto: learn to code, baby):

This means any immigrant with a medical condition and no subsidized form of health insurance would fail the test. The rule also asks prospective immigrants to make at least 125%-250% above the federal poverty line. A report released last year from the Center for American Progress found that 100 million Americans — almost a third of the population — would not meet these criteria. (ThinkProgress is an editorially independent newsroom housed within the Center for American Progress.)

One can’t help but note that there is a radical and visible difference between a nation providing for its own citizens and a nation actively recruiting a cultural and linguistic dependency class from around the world.

This is David French’s go-to guy for self-affirmation on Twitter, so keep an eye on how National Review hits the subject:

Anyway this is what people used to think about Mr. Cuccinelli's ancestors, once upon a time. https://t.co/MSNpx6CahP pic.twitter.com/eJTNz1MJBN

— Adam Serwer🍝 (@AdamSerwer) August 12, 2019

Serwer’s ad hominem aside, Cuccinelli’s ancestors actually did have to convince a federal immigration officer that they had a means of supporting themselves before they were allowed off Ellis Island.

This rule will undoubtedly be challenged by someone in the federal court in San Francisco where a #Resistance judge will block it, but eventually this rule is going to be in effect and you can bet the next administration, whether Trump or some socialist, will not want to repeal it because they won’t want to deal with the fallout of having to explain why.

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