Judge blocks federal plan to deny green cards over benefits

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from implementing a plan to deny green cards to many immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps and other government benefits.

U.S. District Judge George Daniels’ ruling came just four days before the Trump administration was set to start enforcing new rules that would disqualify immigrants from getting legal U.S. residency if they were likely to become a burden on public welfare programs.

In his ruling, Daniels said Trump was redefining immigration rules that had stood since the late 1800s with a new framework that had “no logic.”

Allowing the policy to go into effect now, he said, would have a significant impact on “law-abiding residents who have come to this country to seek a better life.”

“Overnight, the rule will expose individuals to economic insecurity, health instability, denial of their path to citizenship and potential deportation,” Daniels wrote. “It is a rule that will punish individuals for their receipt of benefits provided by our government, and discourages them from lawfully receiving available assistance intended to aid them in becoming contributing members of society.”

Almost simultaneously, a federal judge in California also blocked the policy from taking effect, but that order was more geographically limited to places involved in the case: California, Oregon, Maine, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.

The U.S. Justice Department, which was defending the administration’s policy in court, didn’t respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

The lawsuit in New York is one of several legal challenges nationwide to one of Trump’s most aggressive steps to cut legal immigration.

Immigration advocates say the rule changes are discriminatory because they would deny legal residency and visas to immigrants who don’t have money.

The Trump administration has said the rules would ensure that immigrants who are granted residency are self-sufficient.

The policy is central to Trump’s longtime goal to slash legal immigration and gear it more for people with employment skills instead of toward family members. Those ideas were part of his pitch for an overhaul of immigration laws during his first year in office, but negotiations faltered in Congress.