US to crack down on immigrants
Draft decree seeks to prevent entry, deport and restrict jobs
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s administration is considering a plan to weed out would-be immigrants who will probably require public assistance, as well as to deport – when possible – immigrants living in the US who depend on taxpayer help, according to a draft executive order obtained by The Washington Post.
A second draft order under consideration calls for a substantial shake-up in the system through which the US administers immigrant and non-immigrant visas, with the aim of tightly controlling who enters the country and who can enter the workforce, and reducing the social services burden on US taxpayers.
The drafts are circulating among administration officials, and it is unclear whether Trump has decided to move forward with them or when he might sign them if he does decide to put them in place. The White House would not confirm the authenticity of the orders, and White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.
If enacted, the executive orders would appear to restrict all types of immigration and foreign travel to the US, expanding bars on entry to the country that Trump ordered last week with his temporary ban on refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
While last week’s move focused on national security and preventing terrorism, the new draft orders would be focused on Trump’s campaign promises to protect American workers and to create jobs, restricting the flow of immigrants and temporary labourers into the US workforce.
The administration has accused immigrants who end up receiving US social services of eating up federal resources.
“Our country’s immigration laws are designed to protect American taxpayers and promote immigrant self-sufficiency,” reads one draft order titled “Executive Order on Protecting Taxpayer Resources by Ensuring Our Immigration Laws Promote Accountability and Responsibility”.
“Yet households headed by aliens are much more likely than those headed by citizens to use Federal meanstested public benefits.”
The administration would be seeking to “deny admission to any alien who is likely to become a public charge”.
The second order, titled “Executive Order on Protecting American Jobs and Workers by Strengthening the Integrity of Foreign Worker Visa Programs” calls for “eliminating” the “jobs magnet” that is driving illegal immigration to the US.