The Trump administration is considering a change to immigration policy that could have a significant impact here in Virginia.
It’s called the public charge, an obscure rule guiding immigration policy. But the Trump administration’s proposed reinterpretation of the public charge would radically change access to green cards and visas for immigrants who have used some form of public assistance in the past or might need it in the future.
Laura Goren at the Commonwealth Institute worries that the new rule might have a chilling effect — people no longer getting services they’re entitled to receive. “These are folks in Virginia in families with at least one non-citizen and who are currently receiving one of these benefits and are likely to be scared from this rule into dropping benefits for which they qualify.”
Read more about the proposed rule change from the Dept. of Homeland Security
According to the Fiscal Policy Institute, that would extend to 355,000 people in Virginia, 151,000 of them children.
Brittany Keegan at Virginia Commonwealth University says the proposed change might appeal to some as a way to save money. But, she says, it could have negative consequences long term. “Immigrants who tend to have higher levels of entrepreneurship and who do contribute back to the economy in so many ways, especially if we’re looking five years out or ten years out. We are limiting their opportunities.”
Federal officials will be taking public comment on the proposed rule change through December.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
