Excerpts
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump took another step Thursday
to crack down on legal immigration, instructing agencies to enforce a
23-year-old law that requires sponsors of green card holders to
reimburse the government for welfare benefits.
Trump
approved a memorandum Thursday to enforce a pair of provisions signed
into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the White House said. The
move comes as Trump has sought to overhaul legal immigration despite
congressional resistance.
"To protect benefits
for American citizens, immigrants must be financially self-sufficient,"
Trump said in an announcement of the plan.
Critics have said that such moves unfairly punish low-income immigrants,
who sometimes need assistance to get started in the U.S. But the White
House counters that too many immigrants take advantage of U.S.
generosity, pointing out that 58% of all households headed by a
non-citizen use at least one welfare program.
Administration officials announced last year they were enforcing a law requiring immigrants to "show they can support themselves financially." More than 6 in 10 green cards are granted based on family ties, Department of Homeland Security data show.
The U.S. grants green cards to roughly 1 million foreigners each year.
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