This archive report was first published on 11 October 2019.
On October 11, 2019, a US judge blocked a Trump administration policy that considered immigrants' use of public benefits in green card applications, citing concerns over the well-being of low-income families.
The policy, which was still subject to full legal review by the courts, required agency officials to consider a 'totality of circumstances' in assessing green card applicants based on a list of 'positive' and 'negative' factors.
Negative factors included being unemployed, not completing high school, and lacking proficiency in English. Assets, personal debts, and credit score were also taken into account.
Heavily weighted positive factors included having a household income that was 250 percent above the federal poverty line, currently $53,325 for a family of three, or having private health insurance that was not subsidized by Affordable Care Act tax credits.
However, critics argued that the new criteria forced immigrants to choose between the well-being of some family members in the United States and their desire to reunite with those waiting to join them from overseas.
Diminished participation in Medicaid and other programs would undermine the financial stability of immigrant families and the healthy development of their children, according to several recent studies.
