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.

Watch: WNBA Player Ejected After Nearly Taking Off Sophie Cunningham’s Head With Clothesline Maneuver

Trump’s White House ballroom foes face ‘very tough argument’ at Supreme Court, legal experts say

Fauci in the congressional wringer: a test for Trump’s newly-minted Attorney General

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to what the Senate did and didn’t do overnight

One year on, US-brokered peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan cements US foothold in the Caucasus

Joe Biden’s cancer has spread further, leaving him in ‘very painful’ condition, Hunter reveals

Florida business owners allegedly scattered 1,500 mothballs on beach to send endangered birds packing

Don Lemon Whines to Judge and Blames Trump in Bid to Get Indictment Thrown Out

Cornell bans bear butchering after students carved up creature in dorm kitchen

‘DEI queen’: Virginia Dem’s past embrace of far-left prosecutors unearthed

Slain California fire captain’s wife admits murder after Mexico capture, serving time for killing first spouse

Megan Rapinoe Melts Down After Seeing Photo of Sophie Cunningham with Riley Gaines

Muslims Kill 30 Nigerian Christians in Latest Village Attack

Middle school student arrested after allegedly stashing homemade firearms for robbery plot: sheriff

Persecution of Egyptian Christians Continues in Series of Recent Incidents

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.