The Trump administration wants to punish legal immigrants who used ObamaCare

US immigrant being sworn in as a citizen.

(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

published 7 August 2018

The Trump administration is preparing a proposal that would make it more difficult for legal immigrants to obtain a green card or become citizens if they have used public welfare programs, NBC News reported Tuesday.

The proposal would limit the path to citizenship or reduce the odds of obtaining permanent legal status for migrants who have ever used ObamaCare, children's public health insurance, food stamps, or other benefits. Experts say it would affect around 20 million immigrants, hitting low-income families the hardest.

White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, who has been tasked with reducing the number of migrants who obtain permanent legal status, is leading the way on the proposal, reports NBC News. It would not require congressional approval. The details are still being finalized, but sources said a nearly-finished version of the plan has been sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

In 2016, about 1.2 million immigrants became lawful permanent residents, and more than 750,000 became naturalized citizens. The Trump administration's new immigration policies have put the U.S. on track to decrease those numbers by 20 percent and 10 percent, respectively. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said that the proposal "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." Read more at NBC News.

Explore More

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox