New Trump rule targets poor and could cut legal immigration in half, advocates say

US President Donald Trump’s administration takes action to make it more difficult for poorer legal migrants to extend their visas or gain permanent resident status or a green card.

The long-anticipated rule takes effect from Oct. 15 and would reject applicants for temporary or permanent visas for failing to meet income standards or for receiving public assistance such as welfare, food stamps, public housing or Medicaid.

According to the notice, such a change would ensure that immigrants “are self-sufficient,” in that they “do not depend on public resources to meet their needs, but rather rely on their own capabilities, as well as the resources of family members, sponsors, and private organizations.

“The overhaul is part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to curb both legal and illegal immigration, an issue he has made a cornerstone of his presidency.

Advocates for immigrants have criticized the plan as an effort to cut legal immigration without going through Congress to change U.S. law.