A federal judge has just issued an order blocking President Donald Trump’s new policy of banning poor immigrants, calling it “repugnant to the American Dream.”
President Trump has ordered that immigrants must prove they have enough money to buy health insurance or prove they already have access to health insurance so they do not become a “public charge.” The Trump administration is seeking to block the issuance of green cards and visa applications to those who might later have to access public services.
Bloomberg News reports U.S. District Judge George Daniels called the new Trump rule “repugnant to the American Dream of the opportunity for prosperity and success through hard work and upward mobility.”
Judge Daniels also said: “Defendants do not articulate why they are changing the public charge definition, why this new definition is needed now, or why the definition set forth in the rule — which has absolutely no support in the history of U.S. Immigration law — is reasonable.”
Trump specifically reversed the portion of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act that mandated everyone have health insurance. Many have noted the hypocrisy of forcing migrants, especially those seeking refugee status, to have to prove they have health coverage while not making American citizens equally responsible.
“Under the new more expansive definition, immigrants aren’t supposed to use public benefits like Medicaid, public housing assistance, or food stamps for more than 12 months over a 36-month period,” Bloomberg adds. “Immigration officials will consider an immigrant’s age, health, education, and wealth to see if they are at risk of becoming a ‘public charge.'”
The policy, at least for now, has been blocked from going into effect.
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