Trump Would Deny Legal Status to Immigrants Who Accept Public Benefits

The Trump administration is mulling a proposal that would penalize immigrants who accept public benefits, including tax credits, and could be used to deny them legal residency, The Washington Post reports.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposal would expand the parameters used to grant citizenship, such as Earned Income Tax Credit, health insurance subsidies and other benefits.

If approved, the policy would be a major barrier to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients who apply for full legal residency, the Post reports.

"The administration is committed to enforcing existing immigration law, which is clearly intended to protect the American taxpayer by ensuring that foreign nationals seeking to enter or remain in the U.S. are self-sufficient," DHS spokeswoman Katie Waldman told the Post in a statement.

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