Nancy Pelosi: Trump’s Public Charge Rule Will Be ‘Defeated’ in Court

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 26: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds her weekly press
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Katherine Rodriguez

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) criticized the Trump administration’s public charge rule, vowing that it will be “defeated” in the courts.

“This hateful, bigoted rule is a direct assault on our nation’s proud heritage as a beacon of hope and opportunity for all and a clear attempt to demonize and terrorize the newcomers who make America more American,” the California Democrat tweeted.

Pelosi’s tweet comes right after she took a tour with a congressional delegation to Guatemala, El Salvador, and the migrant detention facilities in McAllen, Texas.

The House speaker said Sunday on her visit to McAllen she sees immigration reform as a “moral responsibility” in addition to being part of her job as a congresswoman.

“We come here to make sure that we’re honoring the dignity of the migrants coming into our country, that the conditions they’re being met with meet their needs, but that also respect their dignity and honor the values of America,” Pelosi said. “When we don’t respect the dignity of all of those migrants, we lessen ourselves.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) also voiced similar concerns with the public charge rule on Monday, saying that it would do nothing to solve the border crisis and “sow fear and distrust” among immigrants.

The Trump administration released its final version of the public charge rule change on Monday, and it is set to go into effect October 15. The proposed rule change was first released in September 2018 and received more than 200,000 public comments online.

The public charge rule would make it harder for immigrants who use public assistance such as food stamps, Medicaid, or other forms of welfare to receive green cards and become U.S. citizens.

Legal immigrants would be less likely to obtain permanent residency if they have had a history of using subsidized health care, public housing, and food stamps under the latest public charge rule.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers currently weigh factors such as wealth, household income, and education as to whether or not to grant a foreigner legal status.

If foreigners are receiving food stamps or other public assistance, they would have to prove to immigration officials that they are self-sufficient enough to live in the U.S. without public assistance.

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