DALLAS _ Armando Rivera, an unauthorized immigrant, lost his factory job in an immigration raid. His U.S. citizen children are eligible for health and food assistance from federal programs, but he's not signing them up.
Maria de Jesus Fuerte hopes to become a legal permanent resident, so she's avoiding using public benefits like health coverage for her U.S. citizen child. Fuerte said her record must be "perfect."
A 20-year-old college student didn't seek medical help for several days after being raped. She said her undocumented status put her at risk of deportation if she sought help.
All three fear what they say is President Donald Trump's ongoing crusade to make life hard for immigrants. Soon, life may get harder: The federal government on Wednesday released proposed rule changes that the Trump administration says will ensure that future immigrants and those seeking to adjust their residency status will be self-sufficient.
The proposed rules would change the way immigrants can be labeled a "public charge" _ i.e., overly dependent on federally funded social services. That designation can reduce immigrants' chances of gaining legal status if they have used or are likely to use those benefits. Under the new rules, they could also be labeled a likely "public charge" in the future based on factors like their income, family size and whether or not they speak proficient English.
The rules are months away from implementation and legal challenges are expected. But immigration advocates and policy analysts say the new rules will put at risk the health of many low-income immigrants and their U.S.-born children.
Immigrants say they are indeed turning away from the use of social services because they're afraid. But the fear, they say, is not new _ and the recently announced changes to public charge rules feel like yet another attack on the immigrant community.
Fuerte, a Mexican immigrant who came to the U.S. about two decades ago, has a U.S.-born daughter and is a leader in her Catholic church in Oak Cliff. She keeps up on the latest news reports on the proposed rule for those seeking green cards.
In the past, her daughter got health coverage through the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. No more. Fuerte didn't renew last year as her income improved, and now she plans to never use the program again. The proposed rules don't impact the U.S.-born citizen children of unauthorized immigrants, but for Fuerte the message is clear and it isn't worth the risk.
"We have to be perfect and advance forward," Fuerte said after a recent Sunday Mass in Dallas. She said the proposed changes will be a "hard hit" for many immigrant families.
Maria Robles, an organizer at Faith in Texas, a religious organization that works with low-income families in North Texas, said many mixed immigration status families she's worked with have told her they'll stop using programs like the CHIP or SNAP. She said they don't want to jeopardize any relatives' chances at adjusting or drawing the attention of immigration officers.
"You're talking about people who have jobs that sometimes don't even pay past minimum wage, and it's a really big deal because they might not have benefits at their job," Robles said. "It's going to be their U.S. citizen kids that are going to feel the impact."
Robles herself lived in immigration limbo and obtained a green card after 30 years of uncertainty. Now, she said, she won't risk attempting to adjust her undocumented husband's status because it feels like the Trump administration is looking for any reason to deport or not grant people legal status.
