The 'Public Charge Rule' is a proposal that would affect families that had immigrated to the U.S. If the proposal goes into effect, this will most likely leave thousands of immigrant families without the basic resources to survive and it can even lead to families getting deported as well.
According to the Immigration Law Center, the Public Charge Rule determines how likely an immigrant will be dependent on the government. This is determined by the Public Charge test where an immigration officer looks at the person's age, health, family status, financial status, education, and skills. The test applies to immigrants who had entered the U.S. or an immigrant who wants to change their status to become a U.S. citizen.
An immigrant is determined to be a public charge if he/she uses any form of cash assistance programs such as TANF, and/or SSI, and/or they use Medicaid. If a person is determined to be dependent on the government in any way, this can put families in a very bad dilemma. Immigrant families will have to choose between going without government support so their family can stay together or they will be denied citizenship causing the chanced of deportation to increase.
As Americans, we should care about this proposed law because nine times out of ten you or someone you may know grew up in a low-income household. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 21.3 percent of U.S. citizens use some kind of government assistance. The highest form of government assistance that is used is Medicaid and food stamps.
If you think about it this means that some of us were able to survive and thrive because the government helped our families put food on the table and helped with medical bills as well.
Imagine being a child again and not being able to eat for days at a time, or laying in bed with a fever that was over 104 degrees. Buying groceries is out of the question because our parents paid rent that their paycheck could barely cover which leaves no money for food, and going to the doctor or hospital is not an option because it would mean that more bills would be added that our parents cannot even pay.
This is how the Public Charge Rule will affect an immigrant family. So ask yourself, "Would I want a child to suffer in this manner, or do I want children of immigrant families to have their basic needs met like I had mines met?"
For now, there seems to be little we can do, but as citizens but what we can do is find every opportunity to advocate for immigrants to have the basic rights that we had growing up til now. We can do this by voting in every election that takes place every year and also donating to charities and organizations that help immigrant families as well.
