Senate Passes Bill to Nullify Biden’s Changes to Public Charge Rule

The Senate passed a resolution on Wednesday that would nullify President Joe Biden’s changes to long-standing policy to prevent immigrants from coming to the United States if they will become a “public charge,” or a burden on the American taxpayer.

As explained by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), since the 1800s, America has required foreign nationals seeking admission to the United States to prove that they could care for themselves. FAIR estimates that the net cost of illegal immigration amounts to at least $150 billion.

President Donald Trump issued a rule under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that would have  made it less likely for foreign nationals to obtain green cards if they had used welfare programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, or housing assistance. Under Biden’s changes to the public charge rule, the administration will not consider the receipt of public benefits in the decision to grant a green card to an immigrant.

“In doing so, it makes a mockery of the law and the intent of Congress to ensure that immigrants are self-sufficient,” FAIR remarked.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would nullify Biden’s changes to the public charge rule.

The resolution passed 50-47, with two Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT), voting for the CRA resolution.

Marshall wrote, “The Senate just passed my Resolution to overturn the Biden Admin’s Public Charge Rule. We must ensure our immigration system promotes self-sufficiency and protects American taxpayers.”

As Breitbart News Editor Neil Munro noted, the 2024 elections are forcing several Democrats to partially and temporarily turn against Biden’s cheap labor migration and border policies.” Notably, Manchin and Tester are up for reelection in 2024.

Breitbart News’s John Binder reported that the National Academies of Science found in 2017 that immigrant households consume 33 percent more cash welfare than American households.

Binder continued:

A similar Center for Immigration Studies study found that about 63 percent of noncitizen households use at least one form of public welfare, while only about 35 percent of native-born American households are on welfare. This means that noncitizen households use nearly twice as much welfare as native-born American households.

Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) said in a written statement after the vote:

These kinds of failed policies from the Biden administration are part of why we have a crisis on our southern border. Our immigration policies should reward self-sufficiency and grit. Instead, the public charge rule sends a message that taxpayers will pick up the tab for migrants once they reach our country.

Ricketts added, “Our safety net is meant to help Americans in need of short-term assistance, not encourage green card holders to be reliant on taxpayer-funded government benefits.”