U.S. wants to bar foreigners who take any public benefit

New rules would deny residency for users of tax credit.

WASHINGTON — Immigrants who accept almost any form of welfare or public bene- fit, even popular tax deduc- tions, could be denied legal U.S. residency under a proposal awaiting approval by the Trump administration, which is seeking to reduce the number of foreigners living in the United States.

According to a draft of the proposal obtained by The Washington Post, immigration caseworkers would be required to consider a much broader range of factors when determining whether immigrants or their U.S.-cit- izen children are using pub- lic benefits or may be likely to do so.

Current rules penalize immigrants who receive cash we l fare payments, considering them a “pub- lic charge.” But the proposed changes from the Department of Homeland Security would widen the government’s definition of benefits to include the widely used Earned Income Tax Credit as well as health insurance subsidies and other “noncash public benefits.”

The changes would apply to those seeking immigration visas, or legal perma- nent residency, such as a foreigner with an expiring work visa. While it would make little difference to those living illegally in the shad- ows, it could affect immi- grants protected by the Deferred Action on Child- hood Arrivals (DACA) program — whose termination has been blocked by federal courts — if they attempt to file for full legal residency.

Immigrants and their fam- ilies facing a short-term crisis could potentially have to forgo help to avoid jeopardizing their U.S. residency status. The proposal would also require more immigrants to post cash bonds if they have a higher probability of need- ing or accepting public ben- efits. The minimum bond amount would be $10,000, according to the DHS proposal, but the amount could be set higher if an applicant is deemed at greater risk of neediness.

DHS officials say the proposal is not finalized. But the overhaul is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to curb legal immigration to the United States, and groups favoring a more restrictive approach have long insisted that immigrants are a drag on federal budgets and a siphon on American prosperity.

“The administration is committed to enforcing existing immigration law, which is clearly intended to protect the American taxpayer by ensuring that foreign nationals seeking to enter or remain in the U.S. are self-sufficient,” DHS spokeswoman Katie Waldman said in a statement.

“Any proposed changes would ensure that the government takes the responsibility of being good stew- ards of taxpayer funds seriously and adjudicates immi- gration benefit requests in accordance with the law,” she added.

DHS officials say the agency is preparing to publish the proposed rule changes in the Federal Register and invite public comment, but they have not set a date.

Reuters reported on the proposed changes in early February, and Vox has published excerpts of a draft. But a more recent, 223-page version obtained by The Post shows the proposal is more extensive than previously reported.

“It’s striking that after strong public criticism of a leaked draft rule, the administration seems to be considering a version that goes even further, and they’re actively considering whether to use this rule to create new grounds for deporting legal immigrants,” said Mark Greenberg, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, which has been critical of Trump policies.

One notable aspect of the proposal indicates nativeborn Americans use public benefits at roughly the same rate the foreign-born population does.

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 non-cash benefits including Medicaid, housing subsidies or home heating assistance, according to statistics compiled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Those figures were nearly identical to the percentage of native-born Americans who get the same forms of assistance. Of the 270 million nonimmigrants, 3.4 percent received cash welfare that year, USCIS research found, and 22.1 percent received noncash benefits.

One of the most radical changes outlined in the proposal would consider refundable tax income credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit created to help working families with low and moderate incomes.