A federal appellate court on Wednesday overturned an order that blocked the nationwide implementation of a controversial wealth test for green cards and immigrant visas, allowing the Trump administration to pursue policies in every state except New York, Connecticut and Vermont.
The court overturned last month’s ruling in part by a federal judge in New York who said the so-called “public charge” test was a national effort to contain the coronavirus by discouraging immigrants from seeking public assistance. , including medical treatment, to request during the pandemic. .
U.S. Circuit Judge Peter Hall gave no reason in his order with one paragraph, which had imposed lower court information in every state except New York, Connecticut and Vermont. All three of those states had sued the Trump administration over the public charge rule.
Wednesday’s order is a temporary victory for the Trump administration and its public charge policy, the most severe restriction on legal immigration in recent years. The ordinance by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security gives immigration officials more power to deny green card applications to people who have been found to trust – or risk being trusted – with the help of the government, such as housing permits and food stamps.
The rule had to be implemented in October 2019 – but orders of federal judges delayed its enforcement until this February, when the Supreme Court intervened and ruled in favor of a lower court.
In April, attorneys general in New York, Connecticut and Vermont asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision, saying the regulation on public charge affected immigrant communities by the spreading coronavirus. The High Court denied her request, but left open the possibility for the states to pursue boredom in lower courts.
The states made statements by doctors, local officials and lawyers who said immigrants in the country feared they could jeopardize their immigration status by seeking medical treatment and government assistance during the pandemic.
Citing these statements, U.S. Judge George Daniels ruled in late July that the policy should be halted as long as there was a national emergency report on the virus, saying the regulation presented immigrants an “impossible choice between health and personal safety hazard as their immigration status” . “
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which governs the public charge rule, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new ruling.
Daniels also stopped in July the version of the State Department of the Public Charge Rule, which applies to people abroad who apply for immigrant visas. The rules require officers to determine if potential immigrants are likely to become a ‘public charge’ by analyzing their wealth, age, educational skills, English language proficiency, health and other factors.
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