White House proposes tighter rules on green cards and student visas
The Trump administration announced on Thursday two major changes for immigrants entering the country and foreigners already inside.
The changes could impact hundreds of thousands of people living in the U.S. It also gives the Department of Homeland Security more reasons to deny a person entry into the country based on whether they would need financial support once inside.
The administration said the changes uphold the rule of law and protect American taxpayers, but some analysts said the changes have far-reaching consequences.
Both proposals will sit in the Federal Register for 60 days after their publication before they can take effect.
What are the changes?
The first change announced on Thursday rescinds a 2022 Biden-era regulation on public charge determinations. These tests are used to determine whether an immigrant applying for a green card or visa is likely to depend on government benefits.
The 2022 rule limited that test to a narrow set of factors like long-term cash assistance or institutional care. The rule barred immigration officers from using other programs like Medicaid, food stamps or housing aid as grounds to deny entry into the country.
Under the new rule, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers can again weigh “all pertinent facts” case by case. This allows officials to consider a broader range of public benefits when deciding whether to approve a green card application.
Zach Kahler, a spokesperson for the USCIS, said in a press release that the rule change helps the administration uphold the law and protects American taxpayers from “subsidizing aliens who may become dependent on public benefits.”
“USCIS is committed to safeguarding the safety, security, and financial well-being of Americans,” Kahler said.
The second change ends “duration of status,” a nearly 50-year-old policy that allowed foreign students, exchange visitors and international journalists to stay in the country for as long as their program lasted without an expiration date. The administration changed the rule so that those groups of people would only be allowed to stay in the country for a set period of time, capped at four years. It also requires them to formally apply for an extension if their studies run longer.
In a press release, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin called the rule “outdated” and said it “created an environment ripe for immigration fraud.”
“For decades, foreign students have been admitted into the U.S. indefinitely, allowing thousands to abuse our immigration system by perpetually enrolling in courses to avoid having to leave the U.S.,” Mullin argued in a press release. “This final rule ensures that foreign students remain focused on their primary purpose: completing their studies and returning home.”
David J. Bier, the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, labeled the administration “the most anti-legal immigrant administration ever,” saying it makes it harder for the country to attract highly educated foreigners.
“Foreign students won’t be allowed to complete multiple undergrad or grad degrees,” Bier wrote on X. “What an utterly pointless rule. We don’t want overeducated immigrants in America, apparently.”
How might the changes affect people?
In its analysis of potential changes to the public charge determination, DHS estimated that these changes could lead to about 950,000 people in immigrant households disenrolling from public benefits or avoiding public benefits altogether.
Immigration attorneys and advocacy groups raised similar concerns. They warn it could discourage families, including American children in mixed-status households, from using benefits they’re legally entitled to.
“It is designed to punish the citizens this Administration dislikes: those in mixed-status families,” said Ben Johnson, the executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. ”U.S. citizens who are fully eligible for benefits will forgo health care, nutrition assistance, and other basic supports out of fear that using them could jeopardize a loved one’s immigration status.”
For international students, the end of the duration of status introduces a hard deadline that didn’t exist before. Most will need to complete their studies within four years or apply for an extension. This new administrative hurdle could hit graduate and doctoral students particularly hard, since many programs run longer than that.
Bier criticized the change, arguing it could turn longtime students who can’t quickly secure a company sponsorship into unauthorized immigrants overnight.
“International students, many of whom will have spent years in the USA, will now have just 30 days to find an employer to sponsor them or immediately be turned into illegal immigrants,” he wrote on X. “Have these people no understanding of how life works?”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
