America should not be an exclusive club

President Donald Trump wants America to be a country club.

Illegal immigrants were a favorite target of Trump’s long before his only election. Earlier this week, his administration declared its intentions to make things harder for those seeking to live in the country legally as well.

Like most Connecticut country clubs, membership would come at a high cost. When considering applications for green cards, Citizen and Immigration Services would consider income, education, health and public aid.

The changes, which would kick in Oct. 15, are explained in a document released Wednesday. The 837 pages can be shorthanded to “We don’t want your kind here.”

Applications for green cards and visas could be rejected more easily if applicants have used benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers. This would also include student and work visas. Public comment apparently resulted in some revises being made to the document, so it shows mercy for pregnant woman.

Imagine if you could stop people from moving onto your street. When would you stop moving the line?

When does the concept of “good neighbor” become pointless?

Trump’s usual critics came out in force, including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, DConn.

“President Trump’s new rule isn’t about keeping our borders secure or more efficient government spending — it’s about starving children to advance a xenophobic antiimmigrant agenda. This deeply cruel policy is despicable. This rule betrays basic American values, promoting an antiquated ‘pull yourself up your bootstraps’ mentality, even as Ken Cuccinelli steals the boots right off your feet,” he responded.

Cuccinelli is acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In an interview with NPR published Tuesday, he mangled Emma Lazarus’ famed poem at the feet of the Statue of Liberty to follow the words “Give me your tired, your poor” with “who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge.”

Public charge would now be defined as an individual who receives one or more designated public benefits for more than 12 months within any 36month period.

Declaring it a “cruel and racist campaign,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is working to block the rule, as are peers such as New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Meanwhile, immigrants will respond in their own ways. They could, as Trump and Co. desire, simply stay away. Or they could avoid public assistance. They would go underground, seeking refuge within the folds of society. Hiding is the last resort for the hunted.

As paranoia builds, many immigrant families are expected to avoid signing their children up for free and reduced price meal programs in public schools, mistaking it for a federal program. That would only result in hungry children.

More than ever, this is a time to be a good neighbor, to help others in your community feel safe.

America cannot function as a country club. It would just become something else, a club we don’t want to join.

Imagine if you could stop people from moving onto your street. When would you stop moving the line? When does the concept of “good neighbor” become pointless?