CLEVELAND (August 12, 2019) – Rep. Marcia L. Fudge, Chair of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations in a statement Monday blasted the Administration’s rewrite of the nation’s “public charge” rule. The announced changes will allow federal officials to deny green cards to legal immigrants who have received—or are deemed by the Administration likely to apply for—public assistance, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, or housing vouchers:

“This decision is an act of discrimination in regulatory form. For poor immigrant populations here legally, this rule unjustly penalizes people who are legally entitled to apply for benefits. In the case of those applying to lawfully enter our country, such rules lend themselves to profiling based on race, ethnicity, education level, national origin and a host of other factors.

“This rule is un-American, immoral and unnecessary. This is just another bigoted attempt by this President to marginalize immigrants, the poor and people of color.”