Public aid a new immigrant hurdle?

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration would make it much more difficult for immigrants to enter the United States or remain here if they use or are likely to use housing vouchers, food subsidies and other “non-cash” forms of public assistance, under a new proposal announced Saturday by the Department of Homeland Security.

U.S. immigration laws have long contained provisions limiting foreigners who are likely to be dependent on financial aid and therefore a “public charge.” But the proposed changes amount to a broad expansion of the government’s ability to deny visas or residency to immigrants if they or members of their household benefit from programs such as Medicaid Part D, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Section 8 housing vouchers.

“Under long-standing federal law, those seeking to immigrate to the United States must show they can support themselves financially,” DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a statement. The proposed changes would “promote immigrant self-sufficiency and protect finite resources by ensuring that they are not likely to become burdens on American taxpayers.”

The proposal is to be published in the Federal Register in the coming weeks, according to DHS, triggering a 60-day public-comment period. “After DHS carefully considers public comments received on the proposed rule, DHS plans to issue a final public charge rule that will include an effective date,” the agency said. DHS officials say they anticipate court challenges to any change.

Although the proposal does not include tax credits and other health benefits that were under consideration in previous drafts, immigrant advocates have raised concerns that the rule change will force families to forgo help to avoid jeopardizing their immigration status.

But advocacy groups see the measure as one more attempt by the Trump administration to limit legal immigration and reduce the number of foreigners living in the United States. Census data show that the foreignborn percentage of the U.S. population is at its highest level in more than a century, according to leading demographers.

The changes, if adopted, would potentially affect those applying for immigration visas or legal permanent residency, such as a temporary worker with an expiring visa. It would have little or no bearing on immigrants who entered the country illegally, but it could weigh on the cases of the more than 600,000 with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival benefits if they file for permanent residency.

According to previous draft versions of the proposal, citing U.S. government data, the foreign-born population uses public benefits at virtually the same rate as native-born Americans.

Out of the 41.5 million immigrants living in the United States, 3.7 percent received cash benefits in 2013, and 22.7 percent accepted noncash benefits including Medicaid, housing subsidies or home heating assistance, according to statistics compiled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The percentages of nativeborn Americans who get the same forms of assistance are nearly identical. In 2015, 3.4 percent of 270 million non-immigrant Americans received cash welfare payments, USCIS research found, and 22.1 percent received noncash subsidies.

Concerns about public dependency were a significant factor in shaping the current U.S. immigration model’s emphasis on family reunification and requirements that newcomers have sponsors to assume financial responsibility for them.

President Donald Trump has disparaged such a system for facilitating what he calls “horrible chain migration” and wants to replace it with a more selective approach based on job skills.