24 votes

"Now the Donald Trump administration wants to limit US citizenship for legal immigrants"

13 comments

  1. eladnarra
    Link

    WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is expected to issue a proposal in coming weeks that would make it harder for legal immigrants to become citizens or get green cards if they have ever used a range of popular public welfare programs, including Obamacare, four sources with knowledge of the plan told NBC News.

    The move, which would not need congressional approval, is part of White House senior adviser Stephen Miller's plan to limit the number of migrants who obtain legal status in the U.S. each year.

    Details of the rulemaking proposal are still being finalized, but based on a recent draft seen last week and described to NBC News, immigrants living legally in the U.S. who have ever used or whose household members have ever used Obamacare, children's health insurance, food stamps and other benefits could be hindered from obtaining legal status in the U.S.

    9 votes
  2. [2]
    niktereuto
    Link
    Wow, this is concerning. My father in law (who has been a lawful resident since the 1980s) used food stamps once, in 2001, because he was laid off from his job (there was a small recession from...

    Wow, this is concerning.

    My father in law (who has been a lawful resident since the 1980s) used food stamps once, in 2001, because he was laid off from his job (there was a small recession from the dot com bubble popping at the time, so a lot of people got laid off from their jobs back then). He was on food stamps for a couple of months, managed to get solid work, and has never been on food stamps or any form of public welfare before or since.

    He literally used the social welfare program for its purpose- as a temporary stand-by to help get you by between jobs. He isn't some lazy, border jumping Mexican menace who has five kids with no papers- he's a hard working, honest man who firmly believes in doing things the right way.

    This proposal would bar him from ever becoming a citizen.

    Thankfully, his wife (my mother in law) got her citizenship a few years ago, so she's safe. But now I'm very concerned about my father in law. :/

    8 votes
    1. eladnarra
      Link Parent
      Yeah, this would affect a lot of people; I'm sorry your father-in-law could be one of them. I was reading responses on Twitter, and one woman tweeted that she was now worried about her husband...

      Yeah, this would affect a lot of people; I'm sorry your father-in-law could be one of them.

      I was reading responses on Twitter, and one woman tweeted that she was now worried about her husband becoming a citizen because she used an ACA/Obamacare plan. Refusing citizenship to permanent residents who legally used certain programs is definitely bad enough, but refusing citizenship to people whose household members have used them certainly shows how malicious this proposed policy is.

      4 votes
  3. [4]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. [2]
      rkcr
      Link Parent
      This seems like an awfully black-and-white view of the world. Any amount of immigration == open borders? Any amount of welfare == robbery?

      This seems like an awfully black-and-white view of the world. Any amount of immigration == open borders? Any amount of welfare == robbery?

      23 votes
      1. [2]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. rkcr
          Link Parent
          Hah, I think you and I have deeply different perspectives of the world, on a fundamental level. I find your thoughts interesting but I also disagree with most of it. :P

          Hah, I think you and I have deeply different perspectives of the world, on a fundamental level. I find your thoughts interesting but I also disagree with most of it. :P

          11 votes
    2. nic
      Link Parent
      That is not an either/or proposition. Gradients are possible, as is demonstrated throughout the world.

      Open borders or welfare state. You get to pick one, not both.

      That is not an either/or proposition.

      Gradients are possible, as is demonstrated throughout the world.

      14 votes
  4. Batcow
    Link
    I can't believe a few years ago I was actually considering moving to America as a potential future. In a way Trump's rhetoric is working, this is one potential legal immigrant who has been...

    I can't believe a few years ago I was actually considering moving to America as a potential future. In a way Trump's rhetoric is working, this is one potential legal immigrant who has been completely put off the idea.

    2 votes
  5. [6]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. [4]
      eladnarra
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Okay, I'm gonna answer this stuff assuming you're asking honestly, because if I wasn't an immigrant and naturalized citizen I don't know how informed I would be, either. But I'm gonna be upfront...

      Okay, I'm gonna answer this stuff assuming you're asking honestly, because if I wasn't an immigrant and naturalized citizen I don't know how informed I would be, either. But I'm gonna be upfront and say that posting so many questions (about a topic not related to the article) doesn't come across great. You admit to not researching this, and I encourage you to do so next time you're curious about this sort of thing. I actually had to do some googling in order to reply.

      DACA has no path for citizenship. It doesn't even grant true legal status in the way something like a visa would as far as I understand it, just a work permit. They couldn't apply for citizenship, they weren't procrastinating, they probably do want to be citizens, and they get very few benefits aside from the ability to temporarily reside and work here.

      The path to citizenship involves first becoming a permanent resident (of which there are several methods, usually either through family or an employer) and then waiting a certain number of years to apply to be naturalized (usually 5 years, 3 if married to a US citizen). It's a long process. It took my family 10 years just to become permanent residents, so in total it was 15 years until we were eligible to apply for actual citizenship.

      The DREAM Act was only proposed, and has not been passed. It would actually give a path to citizenship, first through conditional residency, then permanent residency, then naturalization. It couldn't pass, so Obama enacted DACA, which is an imperfect solution to the problem.

      (If anyone reading this notices any inaccuracies, please correct me.)

      EDIT: things got deleted, so I'm just going to add part of my final reply here, because it does add a clarification.

      Here's some more information on the program. There was a loophole that some people used to gain lawful status and then apply for permanent residency, but it was not built into the program and would not work for everyone-- people who tried it still had to qualify for permanent residency under the normal merits (family or employer), and it involved first gaining permission to go overseas for "humanitarian, educational and employment purposes" and the re-entering the country.

      12 votes
      1. [4]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. [3]
          eladnarra
          Link Parent
          Because... it's not legal for them to do so? All it does is stop people from being deported and give them work permits. It doesn't give them a legal status, so there's literally no way forward in...

          Because... it's not legal for them to do so? All it does is stop people from being deported and give them work permits. It doesn't give them a legal status, so there's literally no way forward in the system. No legal status, no path to permanent residency, no eventual citizenship.

          I don't really know how else to explain it except "they can't."

          4 votes
          1. [2]
            lars
            Link Parent
            I looked this up. People enrolled in DACA can totally become citizens. There are numerous ways they can do it. It's not easy, but it's doable. So to say it's literally impossible is flat-out...

            I looked this up. People enrolled in DACA can totally become citizens. There are numerous ways they can do it. It's not easy, but it's doable. So to say it's literally impossible is flat-out wrong. I don't know why you came at me with such a hostile attitude, but I hope your day got better.

            1 vote
            1. BuckeyeSundae
              Link Parent
              Since you have whatever you found in front of you, could you link what you found for us? I don't know of any ways that are still valid.

              Since you have whatever you found in front of you, could you link what you found for us? I don't know of any ways that are still valid.

              8 votes
    2. 39hp
      Link Parent
      This policy is about documented immigrants who had been on the path to citizenship. DACA and the Dreamers have nothing to do with this.

      This policy is about documented immigrants who had been on the path to citizenship.

      DACA and the Dreamers have nothing to do with this.

      11 votes
  6. lars
    Link
    Some of it you will need to crossreference and dig into further to get the full details. https://citizenpath.com/paths-to-legal-status-undocumented/...