Stephen Miller’s New Plan Stops Citizenship For Legal Immigrants On Welfare

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By Juliana Kaplan August 7, 2018

Updated, August 8, 1:10 p.m.

A new proposal led by White House senior advisor Stephen Miller, expected within the next few weeks, would limit citizenship for legal immigrants, NBC News reported.

According to drafts examined and other descriptions, legal migrants who have used welfare and other publicly-funded programs may be “hindered” from obtaining citizenship, NBC reported. Such programs include food stamps, Obamacare, and children’s health insurance.

Miller’s plan would be the biggest change to the legal immigration system in decades, immigration lawyers, advocates, and public health researchers told NBC News.

The plan does not require congressional approval, and has reportedly been sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget; this is the final step before a rule is published in the federal register.

Slashing legal immigration has long been a goal of Miller’s: Last July, he began working on a bill that would aim to cut legal immigration in half by 2027.

Miller also took a hardline stance on the family-separation policy earlier this summer, saying that it was a “simple decision” to separate parents and kids. Miller is also credited with crafting last year’s controversial travel ban.

“The administration is committed to enforcing existing immigration law, which is clearly intended to protect the American taxpayer by ensuring that foreign nationals seeking to enter or remain in the U.S are self-sufficient,” a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News. “Any proposed changes would ensure that the government takes the responsibility of being good stewards of taxpayer funds seriously and adjudicates immigration benefit requests in accordance with the law.”

Juliana Kaplan is a news intern at The Forward. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter, @julianamkaplan

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