Public Charge’ Rule Punishes Immigrant Families Color
Changes will keep immigrants of color from citizenship, voting
WASHINGTON, DC – On Monday, August 12, the Department of Homeland Security released a new public charge rule. Advancement Project National Office, a multi-racial civil rights organization, released the following statement:
“The Trump Administration continues its assault on immigrants this week by today’s Federal Register announcement of the ‘public charge’ rule. Throughout his campaign and his presidency, Trump has sought to dehumanize immigrants and people of color – in essence, shrinking the definition of who is seen as ‘a person,’” said Losmin Jimenez, Senior Staff Attorney and Immigrant Justice Project Director of Advancement Project National Office. “Today’s public charge shift is not a minor bureaucratic change. It is an attempt to perpetuate a malicious narrative about people of color. A president who calls people animals, bans Muslims, incites violence against people of color, and calls murderous white supremacists ‘good guys’ is not interested in bureaucracy or governing. He’s undoing institutions and practices that foster free and safe communities of color as part of a broader racial purge agenda.”
The proposed changes to the public charge rule punishes low-income immigrant families of color who access essential services such as nutrition assistance and health care. The rule favors immigrants who have completed higher education, speak fluent English and are younger. Obviously, these proposed changes will negatively impact the number of people who are able to get a green card, and, in turn, impacts those who will later be eligible for U.S. citizenship. Another shameful attack on working-class immigrant families and who will ultimately be able to fully participate in democracy as a citizen by voting.
Advancement Project is a multi-racial civil rights organization. Founded by a team of veteran civil rights lawyers in 1999, Advancement Project was created to develop and inspire community-based solutions based on the same high quality legal analysis and public education campaigns that produced the landmark civil rights victories of earlier eras.
