Doubling down on the xenophobia in the wake of a massacre
by digby
Question: "Is that sentiment, give us 'your tired, your poor' still operative in the United States … or should the plaque come down from the Statue of Liberty?"
Ken Cuccinelli: "I'm certainly not prepared to take anything down off the Statue of Liberty" https://t.co/CDEsaMqsLt pic.twitter.com/POqvJteqq5— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) August 12, 2019
The briefing concerned the Trump administration’s upcoming “public charge” regulation, which is expected to add new obstacles to legal immigration. The policy, set to take effect in October, will require caseworkers to take into account the use, among visa and green card applicants, of government services like Medicaid, Section 8 housing vouchers and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Those who seek to remain in the U.S. will have to prove they’re not burdening the nation with a “public charge” ― that is, a cost to the government and its citizens.
Cuccinelli told reporters the new policy “better ensures that immigrants are able to successfully support themselves as they seek opportunity here in America.” He described the policy as an effort to “uphold the rule of law” and support “the core values needed to make the American dream a reality.”
“Throughout our history, Americans and legal immigrants have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps to pursue their dreams and the opportunity of this great nation,” he said.
However, the rule will target low-income households in need of government assistance, inevitably adding further challenges to their ability to live in the U.S.
Most of the green card holders who might qualify for assistance are working at low wage jobs and paying taxes. But sure, let’s have a bunch of privileged, rich, white assholes lecture these people on the value of hard work and their need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
Every day it’s something more grotesque than the previous day. Bigotry is the GOP brand. They literally stand for nothing else. And they are proud of it.
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