Trump Admin Takes First Step to Demand Payback From Sponsors of Immigrants Who Use Welfare

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has begun to remind immigrants that if they receive any welfare benefits prior to becoming a citizen, their sponsors will be responsible for paying back the government.

“If the sponsored immigrant receives any federal means-tested public benefits, the sponsor will be expected to reimburse the benefits-granting agency for every dollar of benefits received by the immigrant,” the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) wrote on Twitter on June 14.

Immigrants who apply for permanent residency and citizenship in the United States are required to find a sponsor who guarantees to support them financially. The affidavit of support is a legally enforceable contract between the sponsor and the government. The financial obligation usually ends once the immigrant becomes naturalized or after the immigrant completes 10 years of full-time work.

Macron slams Trump for ‘stupid’ comments about French riots and warns public of ‘foreign manipulation’

Ilhan Omar finally emerges after DC raid with video pleading for cash to fight Trump

Ilhan Omar, Missing Since Her Home Was Raided, Emerges to Beg for Money on TikTok

Veteran, 81, Shot Dead While Driving Mobility Scooter at Georgia Walmart, Police Make Arrest

Secret sex video rocks University of North Carolina at Charlotte fraternity, 1 arrested: Police

Slain New Jersey mom’s autopsy report released months after stabbing death at home: report

Thune makes bold prediction about Republicans’ Senate chances as GOP pulls millions from key races

Australian politician struck by car in violent attack loses both legs

Town Gave Muslim School Permission to Bring In 90 Students, Then It Went Rogue and Brought in Hundreds More

Les Republicans Pounce! Media Denounces ‘Far Right’ Candidate in France For Noticing Riots Are a Bad Thing

How Saudi Arabia’s defense vulnerabilities could become Trump’s problem amid Houthi onslaught

Talarico has made strides to lock down black voters. They could still cost him the Texas Senate race

Major transgender Supreme Court victory could be undone by movement’s own lawfare, experts say

Maine Democrats fret over Troy Jackson’s guarded Senate campaign

Alabama governor commutes death sentence as doubts emerge about evidence in murder conviction

The USCIS is taking the step in response to a presidential memorandum signed by President Donald Trump in May. The order directs federal agencies to update their regulations to comply with a federal law which prohibits non-citizens from receiving public benefits.

“As part of implementation, we’ll now remind individuals at their adjustment of status interviews of their sponsors’ responsibilities under existing law & regs,” USCIS wrote on Twitter.

Both legal and illegal immigrants use welfare at a far greater rate than native households, according to a study by the Center for Immigration Studies. In 2012, 51 percent of legal and illegal immigrant households used welfare, compared to 30 percent of native households. That year, the federal government spent roughly $500 billion on the programs reviewed by the study.

In fiscal year 2018, USCIS granted citizenship to 757,000 people and approved green cards for 1.1 million people. The number of approvals for green cards reached a five-year high.