(LOS ANGELES, CA – 1/27/2020) – The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) joined CAIR-National today in decrying a U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows a Trump administration change to immigration rules that would give the government wide-reaching ability to deny green cards to those who have participated in public aid programs.
Current immigration law classifies immigrants who are dependent on the government for more than half their income as “public charges” and prevents them from obtaining green cards and visas.
The new rule would expand the definition of public charge to include anyone receiving food stamps, Medi-Cal and housing subsidies or who is deemed “likely at any time” to do so.
That change, first announced in September and affirmed by the Supreme Court today, affects more than 380,000 people.
SEE: Supreme Court allows Trump’s ‘public charge’ immigration rule
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/27/supreme-court-allows-trumps-public-charge-immigration-rule.html
In a statement, CAIR-LA Immigrants’ Rights Center Managing Attorney Farida Chehata said:
“It saddens and disappoints me to see yet another immigration decision from the Supreme Court that detrimentally impacts not only the lives of countless immigrants, but their U.S. citizen families, and this nation as a whole. An immigrant’s value far exceeds the value of her financial standing. This order flies in the face of this country’s history – one built on the contributions of millions of immigrants who came to this country with nothing and built the United States into what it is today.”
CAIR-National Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw said in a statement:
“The Supreme Court’s decision will further marginalize immigrant communities and will inevitably create a socioeconomic hierarchy in our immigration system. The Trump administration’s policy could quite literally kill people by making them too afraid to seek life-saving medical care, and the Supreme Court seems to agree such a cruel system is acceptable.”
McCaw urged Congress to co-sponsor the No Federal Funds for Public Charge Act of 2019 (H.R. 3222) which would nullify the new policy.
Learn more about the rule and its effects here:
Public Charge: A New Threat to Immigrant Families
https://www.clasp.org/sites/default/files/publications/2018/04/2018_publiccharge.pdf
Frequently Asked Questions: Proposed Changes to the Public Charge Rule
https://www.nilc.org/issues/economic-support/pubcharge/proposed-changes-to-public-charge-rule-faq/
Two years ago, CAIR and CAIR-LA joined more than 1,100 other organizations in an open statement strongly opposing the rule change when it was proposed last year. The Washington-based civil rights organization also submitted a petition with more than 500 signatures to the Federal Register calling on the Trump administration to withdraw the rule.
More than 210,000 were mailed to US Citizenship and Immigration Services or submitted online at Regulations.gov — much more than any regulatory proposal typically gets.
SEE: Comment Submitted by Robert McCaw, The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Petition with 287 signatures)
https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=USCIS-2010-0012-48741
CAIR-LA has an Immigrants’ Rights Center to help immigrants in the Greater Los Angeles area and surrounding communities. Individuals and families can seek legal help from CAIR-LA by filling out an intake form: http://bit.ly/IRCNats
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Manager Eugene W. Fields, 714-851-4851 or efields@cair.com