Aug 14, 2019

California counties file lawsuit against Trump admin green card rule

A woman who's applying for food stamps in Orange, California. Photo: Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

San Francisco and Santa Clara counties filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a Trump administration move to penalize immigrants who use or are likely to use public benefit programs such as food stamps, housing assistance or Medicaid.

Why it matters: Per Axios' Stef Knight, the rule would make it much harder for immigrants with low incomes or low levels of education to obtain visas or green cards. And it would be much harder for immigrants already in the U.S. to stay longer, change their immigration status or become citizens if they have used any of the specified safety net programs.

The big picture: The suit, filed in the U.S District Court of Northern California, is the first legal challenge to the so-called "public charge" rule, unveiled in its final form on Monday, the Mercury News notes. The rules are due to come into effect in mid-October.

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Rashaan Ayesh

Immigrant-owned businesses contribute billions to U.S. economy

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Immigrants in the U.S. are twice as likely to start businesses as their native counterparts for a myriad of reasons, generating at least $1 trillion in annual sales revenue, per the New American Economy (NAE).

Driving the news: President Trump recently issued an immigration rule that targets legal immigrants "who are likely to use public benefit programs" — positioning them as a burden on taxpayers. However, studies show that immigrant-owned small businesses in the U.S. generate billions of dollars in tax revenue each year.

Go deeperAug 17, 2019

Kim Hart

Immigrants are driving growth in U.S. cities

Adapted from an Economic Innovation Group chart; Data: U.S. Census Bureau; Chart: Axios Visuals

Go deeperSep 11, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Ursula Perano

Madeleine Albright blasts Ken Cuccinelli's Statue of Liberty comments as "un-American"

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, a two-time refugee, blasted Ken Cuccinelli's rewording of the poem inside the Statue of Liberty as "one of the most un-American things that I’ve ever heard" during a CNN interview Wednesday.

The backdrop: Cuccinelli, the acting head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, came under fire this week for using the poem to defend the Trump administration's rule that would penalize immigrants who use or are likely to utilize public benefit programs.

Go deeperAug 15, 2019