Recently the Trump administration unveiled a proposal to strictly enforce existing rules for millions of immigrants applying for green cards or visas by scrutinizing their use of food stamps, welfare, housing vouchers or Medicaid.
The rule comes from a long-standing federal law stating that those seeking to immigrate to the United States must show that they can support themselves financially. Department of Homeland Security officials, who announced the proposal, said their plan would save federal taxpayers $2.7 billion annually by deterring immigrants from applying for benefits they would otherwise be qualified for. It would affect about 380,000 people annually, according to federal officials.
KCP asked incumbent U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) and his challenger Democrat Max Rose in the upcoming 11th Congressional District election what they think of the proposal and why. The following is their answer.
Max Rose: “This proposal will not only leave tax paying legal immigrants potentially starving or without health care, but it will also hurt innocent children just because their parents happen to be immigrants. If we want to fix our immigration system, then our leaders should have the guts to do it, not target kids and people who legally left their own country behind to become proud Americans. If we really want to crack down on fraud and free-loading, Congress must end the egregious tax breaks and loopholes Dan Donovan’s donors, like Purdue Pharma, use to pay nothing in taxes while hardworking Americans can barely get ahead.”
Dan Donovan [through his campaign spokesperson Jessica Proud]: “Dan believes our country should embrace a merit-based visa program. We are a compassionate nation that already provides more than $40 billion in foreign aid to other nations. We have a $21 trillion debt that is threatening our economic and national security that we need to get under control while ensuring we protect the social safety net for Americans who need it.”
