On Monday, the Trump Administration’s Final Rule on Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds will take effect. Trump has spent countless hours in office pushing failed immigration policies that benefit no one. In Florida, a state with a rich history of welcoming immigrants looking for a better life, Trump’s law is expected to be particularly destructive. The Miami Herald reported that Trump’s policy “could lead to more than 100,000 U.S.-born children with an immigrant parent losing access to health insurance and over 82,000 losing access to SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits.”
Under the public charge rule, immigrants may be unable to obtain a green card or extend their visas for using benefit programs, including SNAP and Medicaid, with certain exceptions. This rule has been criticized for unfairly discriminating against low-income immigrants.
Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, released the following statement on Trump’s public charge rule going into effect:
“Trump’s draconian policy is putting 100,000 Floridian children at risk of losing their health care because their parents fear deportation. Trump is hell bent on punishing immigrant families with cruel laws — and we can’t let this happen for another four years. We are fiercely working to defeat him and his failed immigration policies in November.”