Affects 382 thousand .. Trump targets the campaign "Green Card" with new measures

Mohamed Minshawi-Washington

The administration of President Donald Trump does not stop trying to find new ways and means to crack down on legal and illegal immigrants within the United States.

Since coming to power and starting his presidency in January 2017, Trump has placed an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants on top of his domestic agenda.

To do so, Trump is pushing to build a barrier along the southern border with Mexico, and expands to expel hundreds of thousands of people who have entered the United States illegally or overstayed their stay.

Holders of permanent residence
A new move by the Trump administration to target hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants who already have permanent residence or what is known as the Green Card (Green Card) or those seeking it.

Beginning in mid-October, new rules will be in place that would deny permanent residence cards to migrants using medical benefits, food cards, subsidized housing, or other forms of government assistance.

According to government data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, 544,000 people apply annually for a permanent residency card. Of these, 382,000 - 70% - receive government subsidies.

The data also indicate that there are currently more than 13 million permanent residents in the United States.

Many immigrants fear that receiving federal benefits will hamper their chances of acquiring US citizenship, as implementing these new policies would significantly reduce the number of legal residents in the United States.

In this regard, the Egyptian immigrant Abdullah is concerned about the delay in obtaining permanent residence, and tells Al Jazeera Net that the waiting period has been less than one year, but since the arrival of Trump, the situation has become more complicated. "Trump's new policies will further delay the granting of green cards."

"When I arrived in the United States, old immigrants helped me apply for free health insurance for the poor," said Hussein, a legitimate Sudanese immigrant who lives in New Jersey. right Now?".

"A burden on the nation"
Acting US immigration chief Ken Cochinelli believes the Trump administration is trying to "protect taxpayers by ensuring that people who immigrate to this country do not become a burden, and that they are able to stand on their feet as immigrants have done in past years." .

Cucinelli was criticized a few days ago after manipulating the words of the famous poem of the American poet Emma Lazarus carved on a plate installed at the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York, which welcomes the needy.

During a meeting with the national radio, Cucinelli said that those are "those who can stand on their legs and will not become a dependency on the government".

But President Trump backed Cucinelli. "It's about America first. I don't think it's fair to make the American taxpayer pay for people to come to the United States," he said.

Poll
Quinnipiac University conducted a poll of 1,306 registered voters across the United States between July 25 and July 28. It found that 70 percent of Americans believe immigration is a good thing for the United States, while 17 percent said it is harmful. 13% did not form an opinion on the issue.

But the poll also showed that 51% of Republicans do not think immigration is a good thing or useful for their country, unlike Democrats, 87% of them believe that immigration is beneficial to their country.