Thread by @donnaimamTX

Statue of Liberty. A thread.

Legal immigrants who are applying for permanent residency do not qualify for or use public assistance programs such as TANF, SNAP or Section 8 Housing.

This is a ploy to rile up right-wing voters and mislead them to believe they do. Let me explain.

The proposed #PublicChargeRule that is about go into effect can be found here:

federalregister.gov/documents/2018…

It applies to people seeking adjustment of status from a visa status such as a work visa (for example like H1B). To adjust status you have to have a sponsor is most cases.

The most common forms of status from which you would apply for permanent residency are as follows:

A.Sponsorship by a family member such as a Permanent Resident or US Citizen spouse or adult US Citizen Child, or an adult US Citizen sibling.

B.Sponsorship by an American Company that can prove your need based on your skills and that they can pay you a prevailing wage.

FYI: This is complicated and takes enormous amount of proof and is a long process that can take years.

C. Self-sponsorship of highly qualified individuals with a PhD from an American institution.

A pretty small category of people qualify in this category and most are working in research at universities or research divisions of fortune 500.

In the case of A most people are normally outside the US if a family member is the sponsor. If you were already in the US you would be on some sort of legal visa status most commonly work visa (H1B) which requires you to be paid a prevailing wage, so it would be highly...

unlikely for you to qualify for any public benefit programs like SNAP or TANF.

In the case of B. You would be on a work visa or H1B which requires you to be paid a prevailing wage, so same issue it would be highly unlikely to able to qualify.

In the case of C, most highly qualified individuals with PhDs applying for permanent residency do so because they have jobs, it would be rare to find a PhD holder not working in industry or at a university while applying.

So the questions:
So who exactly are these people that are legally applying for permanent residency have taken public-benefits? How many of them are there? How much public assistance in terms of dollars have been given to them? Does the government or the DHS have any reason...

to believe that this would impact our budget for public assistance programs?

Or is this just a way to show that this administration is following through on their claims that immigrants take handouts (it's the other way around) re: Statue of Liberty?

It appears the amount of money that we are spending to institute enforcement of the change to the Public Charge Inadmissibility Law greatly outweighs the inconsequential amount of public assistance funds that legal applicants of permanent residency are availing (if any)!

"give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet, and who will not become a public charge." - USCIS director Ken Cuccinelli

Note the words "will not become a #PublicCharge" as in, in the future! How can they determine the future?

And preemptively strike?

This is classic assault on the American fabric of immigrants and vilifying them to divert our attention from important pressing topics

To convince GOP voters that somehow restricting immigration is the solution to healthcare and NOT elimination of for-profit insurance companies

This is the current administration and people who just want to have a job in this administration going along with a concocted problem that doesn't exist.

Instead of solving for $1.52 trillion student loan crisis they are telling you the problem is LEGAL immigrants using SNAP!

Instead of putting a stop to for-profit student loan companies who can and are garnishing the wages of Americans this is the "so called" problem this administration is focusing on.

Instead of figuring out how to increase wages for millions on 2 or 3 jobs this what the want...

you to believe is the problem. That immigrants are taking food stamps and that's a bigger problem than healthcare, education, higher wages.

Don't buy it, don't be distracted. They are not doing their jobs #VoteThemOut. Find someone who will.

Here's why: votefordonna.com/why/