Thread by @AngelRafPadilla

Chances are you'd never heard of public charge before today.

It's a big deal and will have devastating consequences for potentially millions of immigrants. Here's why it matters. 1/

Public charge has been around for over a hundred years and was intended to keep certain "undesirable" immigrants out of the US...poor people.

It's basically a wealth test for immigrants. 2/

What should shock no one to learn, Congress passed the public charge restriction the same year it passed another, more famous restrictionist law: 3/

Even though public charge has been around for a long time, for decades it has only been applied in limited and rare cases, under both Democratic and Republican administrations. 4/

The purpose of *this new rule* is to allow Trump to deny immigrants from entering the U.S., from obtaining green cards, and by extension citizenship, if they don't pass this new wealth test.

And yes, it can also be used to deport immigrants. 5/

The new public charge rule is a way for Donald Trump (and Stephen Miller) to dramatically restrict immigration unilaterally, without the congressional approval they've repeatedly sought and failed to get. 6/

Public charge might not elicit the same visceral reaction as kids in cages, but it's just as devastating as any other one of Trump's anti-immigrant attacks.

It is another form of family separation. 7/

For more info, follow @NILC and @CLASP_DC. They've been doing amazing work to #protectfamilies through the Protecting Immigrant Families campaign.

protectingimmigrantfamilies.org /end

@NILC @CLASP_DC And, there is a bill that would defund this new rule. It's called "No Federal Funds for Public Charge" (HR 3222). If your MoC isn't a co-sponsor, yell at them this recess and tell them to get on it.