Effect of Public Charge Proposals on US Businesses
By Ted Hesson for Politico:
A new Trump administration proposal that targets immigrants who receive government benefits could be a major headache for businesses — and many don’t even know it yet.
Under the sweeping “public charge” proposed rule, an estimated 518,000 foreigners with temporary visas seeking to extend their stay each year would be required to demonstrate that they haven’t received certain benefits, including Medicaid and food stamps, and weren’t likely to receive them in the future.
If the Homeland Security Department wasn’t satisfied with the answers, it could require that applicants submit a “declaration of self sufficiency” — yet another hurdle in an immigration system many employers already consider burdensome.
“I don’t think the business community has any clue how much this impacts them,” said Doug Rand, a former Obama administration official and president of Boundless Immigration, a firm that uses online tools to assist with immigration paperwork. “This means paying lawyers a lot more money and having every application being a nail-biter.”
bh