White House Moves to Crack Down on Legal Immigration

The Trump administration has made curbing illegal immigration into the United States a priority since day one. Now, the White House is looking into limiting legal immigration into the country.

The White House is proposing tougher scrutiny of immigrants applying for permanent residency, focusing on any government benefits applicants may have used in the past. While the administration has yet to formally propose a plan, it's considering expanding what qualifies as a "public charge" to include a wide array of popular, non-cash government programs, including Head Start, Medicaid and SNAP. Participation in these programs could be counted against immigrants in their applications for permanent residency.

Reporter Yeganeh Torbati wrote about the new plan for Reuters. She says the administration is arguing it doesn't want to be taken advantage of.

"Their argument is that, 'We are supposed to be the stewards of taxpayer funds, and what we really want are immigrants who are self-sufficient,'" Torbati says.

Critics say raising this standard could discourage immigrant families from accessing public benefits that they have a legal right to, including healthcare and food aid.

Torbati reports that some experts believe the policy could come up as an official proposal by the end of the year.

Torbati spoke with WNYC's Richard Hake about the Trump White House's efforts to crack down on legal immigration to the U.S.