{"id":22967,"date":"2020-05-14T11:39:11","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T15:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=22967"},"modified":"2020-05-14T11:39:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T15:39:13","slug":"media-bias-public-charge-rule-immigrationreform-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2020\/05\/14\/media-bias-public-charge-rule-immigrationreform-com\/","title":{"rendered":"NPR\u2019s Deceptive Public Charge Fear-Mongering"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On May 11, the National Public Radio (NPR) published a piece<\/a> entitled \u201cWill Filing For Unemployment Hurt My Green Card? Legal Immigrants Are Afraid.\u201d The key takeaway here is that, as the title itself suggests, is the claim that because of the Trump administration\u2019s supposedly unwelcoming rhetoric and policies immigrants are so scared that they are afraid to access benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article is part of a narrative that is, of course, not new. NPR and other liberal and leftist outlets have been running similar stories for years to manipulate both the emotions of native-born Americans and legal immigrants. Whether it was food stamps<\/a> (SNAP), state health insurance<\/a> (e.g. MediCal in California), children\u2019s<\/a> health insurance, or \u2013 in this case, unemployment insurance \u2013 the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to rein in the abuse of our social safety net by non-citizens (be they legal immigrants or illegal migrants) was and is constantly portrayed as a mean-spirited effort by a xenophobic and miserly regime to intimidate the poor and vulnerable. Most of the fire has focused on the administration\u2019s new public charge rule<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NPR bases its narrative on a \u201chalf-dozen stories,\u201d which is hardly a large and representative sample. The article complains that these are \u201cpeople earning a living and paying taxes in the U.S. yet fearful that collecting unemployment might jeopardize their immigration cases.\u201d It also admits that USCIS confirmed<\/a> that unemployment insurance is considered an \u201cearned benefit,\u201d and therefore would not make an immigrant inadmissible on public charge grounds. (The information is also readily available<\/a> on the USCIS website.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this short clarifying paragraph is buried in the middle of the article, and the author effectively dismisses it by quoting an executive at the American Immigration Lawyers Association \u2013 an organization with a clear fiduciary interest in representing immigrants, and even scaring them into believing that they will need their services \u2013 who claims that \u201cthe perception is the problem, not the reality.\u201d And much of the perception, according to the quoted AILA exec, stems from the fact that, as far as immigrants are concerned, \u201cin the [news], you constantly hear you\u2019re not welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly,\nthat is a swipe at the Trump administration, whose efforts to protect the\ninterests of the American people by barring immigrants who are likely to become\npublic charges, is branded as \u201cunwelcoming rhetoric\u201d by news outlets like NPR.\nWhat it leaves out is the role of left-leaning media (including NPR), liberal\nDemocratic politicians, pro-illegal-alien activists, and ethnic advocacy\ngroups. These interests deliberately distort and caricature the\nadministration\u2019s policies, while simultaneously fomenting and pushing fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition,\nwhile some immigrants may fear that applying for unemployment or other benefits\nmay jeopardize them, the reality is that many have no such fears of accessing\nAmerica\u2019s social safety net in one way or another. For instance, according to a\nstudy by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), in 2014 \u201c63 percent of\nhouseholds headed by a non-citizen reported that they used at least one welfare\nprogram, compared to 35 percent of native-headed households.\u201d The percentage of\nimmigrants on benefits likely went down under Trump, but the widespread use of\npublic benefits by immigrants during the Obama era only underscores the need\nfor public charge reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like American\ncitizens, legal immigrants should be able to apply for the earned benefit of\nunemployment insurance \u2013 particularly in a time of economic distress such as\nthe COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than fear-mongering, organizations and media\nshould perhaps more effectively communicate to legal immigrants that applying\nfor unemployment benefits will not contribute to inadmissibility under public\ncharge. That being said, the U.S. government has done its job of clarifying\nwhich benefits are taken into account, and which are not (including\nunemployment). It is under no obligation to do what the left seems to want the\nadministration to do, i.e. bend over backwards to assure that foreign nationals\ndon\u2019t have to think twice before applying for public benefits, lest they feel\n\u201cunwelcome.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On May 11, the National Public Radio (NPR) published a piece entitled \u201cWill Filing For Unemployment Hurt My Green Card? Legal Immigrants Are Afraid.\u201d The key takeaway here is that, as the title itself suggests, is the claim that because of the Trump administration\u2019s supposedly unwelcoming rhetoric and policies immigrants are so scared that they<\/p>\n

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