Senate votes to end President Biden resolution making it harder for immigrants 'to obtain legal status'

17 May 2023

The Senate ended a President Joe Biden Administration rule Wednesday by passing a resolution that will make it harder for immigrants to obtain legal status "if they use public benefits," CNN reports.

Per Politico, under "public charge," the former President Donald Trump-era rule, "immigrants could be denied permanent resident status if they had received or were expected to receive food assistance, Medicaid, housing assistance, or other public benefits."

The resolution was passed "with two Democratic senators crossing party lines" – Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) — who are both up for reelection, according to CNN.

The resolution's sponsor, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), said in a statement, "With the crisis raging at our southern border and the national debt over $31 trillion, it is fair and sensible to favor prospective new citizens who will not be reliant on government benefits. My legislation will ensure America welcomes self-sufficient new citizens who are ready to contribute, while reigning in excessive spending."

On the contrary, Politico reports, when the Department of Homeland Security officially rolled back the Trump-era rule in September, after the Biden administration "stopped enforcing" it in March 2021, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said, "This action ensures fair and humane treatment of legal immigrants and their U.S. citizen family members. Consistent with America's bedrock values, we will not penalize individuals for choosing to access the health benefits and other supplemental government services available to them."

CNN reports the legislation passed Wednesday is considered "a joint resolution," which means it must also pass in Congress — which has yet to vote — before it gets in Biden's hands.

CNN's full report is available at this link. Politico's report is here.

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