Helen Klein Murillo on Lawfare notes another approach may be in development by the Trump Administration for restricting immigration:
In late January, just after the initial refugee order, The Washington Post reported on a draft executive order entitled “Executive Order on Protecting Taxpayer Resources by Ensuring Our Immigration Laws Promote Accountability and Responsibility.” The document, apparently authored by Andrew Bremberg, Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council, proposed revamping the so-called “public charge” law.
I.e., if someone would be a burden, we reject them. This is already a law. Continuing:
Yesterday may have seen movement toward that policy—a policy that could threaten national security by discouraging immigrants from seeking health care—through a subtle but significant development in the shadow of the refugee order. Section 3 of yesterday’s presidential memorandum is titled “Enforcement of All Laws for Entry Into the United States.” That section directs agencies “to rigorously enforce all existing grounds of inadmissibility and to ensure subsequent compliance with related laws after admission.” Furthermore, the memorandum directs agencies to “issue new rules, regulations, or guidance . . . to enforce laws relating to such grounds of inadmissibility and subsequent compliance,” rules which are to “supersede any previous rules to the extent of any conflict.”
It’s hard to read that and not see the connection to the proposed public charge order—a potentially far-reaching law that could severely limit lawful immigration, but which long-standing regulatory guidance has limited in application. Although yesterday’s big news was the executive order, this seemingly small piece of the presidential memorandum might significantly impact another immigration policy sphere that implicates national security. This is another area to watch.
As Helen says, something to watch so long as the Trump Administration remains in power.
