States and Cities Sue Over Trump’s Policy to Restrict Green Cards

8:06 PM ETDeveloping

Politics Desk

In Short: California and other Democratic-led states and localities have filed lawsuits challenging new Trump administration rules that could deny green cards to immigrants who have used public assistance programs.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, leading a coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia, has challenged the new policy, stating it seeks to 'rewrite more than 100 years of law' by making past use of public benefits grounds for denying green cards.

No family should have to choose between accessing healthcare and nutrition assistance today — or protecting their pathway to a green card tomorrow,' Bonta said, highlighting the potential financial burden on states and local governments.

The new policy, according to Bonta, gives immigration officers 'unprecedented, sweeping new discretion to deny admission' to families that have accessed public assistance programs, which he argues is clearly illegal and would shift millions in costs to local governments.

What's still developing

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, whose office is helping lead the states’ challenge, said the rule changes seek to “rewrite more than 100 years of law” by making even brief use of public benefits in years past grounds for the federal government to deny a person’s application for legal permanent residency in the future — which he said was clearly illegal and would push tremendous costs onto states, counties and cities.
San Francisco City Atty. David Chiu, whose office is helping lead a separate challenge from Democratic-led cities and counties, said in a statement that the new Trump administration policies are “a blatant attempt to sow fear and confusion in our immigrant communities and coerce people into withdrawing from critical government services” — which he also said would shift millions in costs to local governments.
“Sanctuary states are terrified they will lose federal funds because hundreds of thousands of illegals and noncitizens might remove themselves from American welfare programs,” the spokesperson said.
The lawsuit, joined by Bonta, the attorneys general of 19 other states and the District of Columbia, and the governor of Pennsylvania, was filed in federal court in New York.
In a morning news conference, Bonta said the Trump administration’s new rules target families in unprecedented ways.
As another, he said the new rules could penalize immigrant families for accessing basic, preventative healthcare that actually helps control the broader public cost of illness to localities and states.
Set us as preferred California and other Democratic-led states and localities filed a pair of lawsuits Monday challenging new Trump administration rules giving immigration officials more power to deny green cards to applicants whose families have relied on public assistance programs in the past.
President Trump won office on a promise to rein in illegal immigration.

Sources

Perryville Republic Monitorlink