Advocates wary of tighter immigration rules

State leaders and immigration advocates are criticizing new federal rules that will require immigrants to show they won’t be a burden on taxpayers, saying the regulations will hurt families seeking health care, housing and other public programs.
The rules, which will be released on Wednesday and go into effect Oct. 15, change how the federal government determines if an immigrant is likely to need public assistance such as food stamps, housing and Medicaid, ostensibly making it more difficult for low-income immigrants to secure permanent residency status or temporary visas…Georgia Katsoulomitis, executive director of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said the rule change “will punish low-income, low-wage working immigrants seeking permanent residence in the U.S for accessing assistance for basic human needs.” “This subverts the nation’s long-standing immigration laws and family unification policy, because new immigrants will not be able to meet this radical new income test,” she said.
Read more in the Gloucester Daily Times