周一，特朗普政府出台了备受争议的“公共收费”规则，为低收入移民寻求进入美国的合法途径设置了新的障碍，加拿大政府似乎朝着相反的方向迈出了一步，承诺为移民和难民提供2000多万美元的法律援助资金。
周一下午，美国公民和移民服务代理主管肯·库奇内利(Ken Cuccinelli)宣布发布“公共收费”规则，该规则旨在扩大谁可以被视为“公共收费”或谁通过公共福利依赖政府援助的定义，这可能会损害某些低收入移民。
根据新的定义，政府福利的预期用途，包括住房、医疗补助和补充营养援助计划(SNAP)，可能会成为对希望获得绿卡或临时签证留在美国的移民的打击
美国公民和移民服务署代理署长肯·库奇内利星期一上午在白宫新闻发布会上说声称规则将有助于促进移民的“自力更生”。
“纵观历史，自力更生一直是美国的核心原则，”库契内利说。“通过公共收费规则，特朗普总统的政府正在推行自给自足和个人责任的理念。”
然而，移民和家庭倡导者很快谴责了这项措施，声称它不公平地针对低收入移民和需要支持的家庭——而不是额外的限制。
“特朗普政府声称公共收费规则纯属谎言...是关于促进移民家庭的自给自足，”家庭倡导组织MomsRising的副总裁唐娜诺顿在一份声明中说新闻周刊。
诺顿说:“这项规定旨在通过将健康、住房、营养和其他让勤劳的母亲和家庭茁壮成长的重要项目武器化，向移民发动战争。”。“强迫家庭在他们需要的服务和他们爱的家庭之间做出选择是短视的、残酷的、危险的，也是完全不可接受的。”
她说:“如果移民家庭使用医疗补助、医疗保险、SNAP(补充营养援助计划)或第8节房租券，这一规定会使美国的儿童饥饿、儿童贫困、无家可归、健康状况不佳和种族差异增加。”她指出，这一规定的改变可能影响多达2600万人，包括美国四分之一的儿童
然而，当唐纳德·特朗普总统及其政府面临试图为低收入移民制造额外障碍的指控时，加拿大特鲁多政府正朝着相反的方向迈出明确的一步，宣布计划再投资2000万加元(约合2600万加元——巧合的是，受特朗普政府规则影响的每一个人大约有一加元)用于移民和难民的法律援助资金。
特鲁多宣布注入资金，因为加拿大安大略省领导层决定将省法律援助预算削减30%。
该省辩称，特鲁多政府应该为该项目买单，并将四年间索赔增加158%归因于联邦移民政策的变化。
代表移民和难民的律师对联邦政府的决定表示赞赏，加拿大难民律师协会主席莫林·西尔科夫(Maureen Silcoff)感谢特鲁多政府解决了安大略省“2019年4月突然取消难民和移民法律援助计划”后难民和移民面临的“危机”
西尔科夫说:“在一个专制政权下，任何面临酷刑的人，任何在一个没有保护的国家逃离严重家庭暴力的妇女，任何逃离来拯救自己生命的男女同性恋、双性恋和变性者，都不应该在没有法律顾问的情况下受到高风险的法律诉讼。”。
“法律援助移民和难民项目的资金一直由省政府和联邦政府分担。福特政府不计后果的削减让弱势群体陷入危机。”安大略省行政机构难民律师协会成员劳尔·布拉基亚补充说。“我们欢迎联邦政府的这一宣布，它有权介入，以避免对移民和难民造成如此不可挽回的伤害。”
随着联邦选举有望在10月份举行，特鲁多政府一直在寻求重申其欢迎移民、寻求庇护者和难民入境的承诺，加拿大政府宣布计划在三年内吸引100万移民。
在最近对…的采访新闻周刊,加拿大移民部长艾哈迈德·侯赛因(Ahmed Hussen)试图重申这一承诺，声称加拿大“大体上”非常幸运...尽管美国和世界各地的领导人都支持“反移民叙事”，但总的来说还是有支持移民的人口。
ON THE SAME DAY DONALD TRUMP INTRODUCED 'PUBLIC CHARGE' RULE LIKELY TO CURB LEGAL IMMIGRATION, JUSTIN TRUDEAU PLEDGED $20 MILLION TO ENCOURAGE IT
As the Trump administration laid a fresh barrier in the way of low-income immigrants hoping to secure a legal pathway into the U.S. with the introduction of its controversial "public charge" rule on Monday, Canada's government appeared to take a step in the opposite direction, pledging more than $20 million in legal aid funding for immigrants and refugees.
On Monday afternoon, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli announced the release of the "public charge" rule, which seeks to broaden the definition of who can be considered a "public charge," or someone who relies on government assistance through public benefits," to the likely detriment of certain low-income immigrants.
Under the new definition, the expected use of government benefits, including housing, Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), could serve as a strike against immigrants hoping to obtain green cards or temporary visas to stay in the U.S.
Speaking at a White House press briefing Monday morning, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli claimed that the rule would help promote "self-reliance" among immigrants.
"Throughout history, self-reliance has been a core principle in America," Cuccinelli said. "Through the public charge rule, President Trump's administration is enforcing the ideals of self-sufficiency and personal responsibility."
Immigration and family advocates have been quick to condemn the measure, however, asserting that it unfairly targets low-income immigrants and families who are in need of support–not additional restrictions.
"It is simply a lie for the Trump administration to claim that the public charge rule...is about promoting self-sufficiency among immigrant families," said Donna Norton, the vice president of family advocacy group MomsRising in a statement sent to Newsweek.
"This rule is designed to wage war on immigrants by weaponizing health, housing, nutrition and other essential programs that allow hardworking moms and families to thrive," Norton said. "Forcing families to choose between the services they need and the families they love is short-sighted, cruel, dangerous and simply unacceptable."
"By putting admission to the United States and green cards at risk if an immigrant's family uses Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), or Section 8 rent vouchers, this rule will increase child hunger, child poverty, homelessness, poor health outcomes, and racial disparities in our country," she said, noting that the rule change could affect as many as 26 million people, including one in four children in the U.S.
As President Donald Trump and his administration faced accusations of trying to create additional barriers for low-income immigrants, however, Canada's Trudeau government was taking a clear stride in the opposite direction, announcing plans to invest another $20 million (C$26 million—coincidentally around one Canadian dollar for every person affected by the Trump administration's rule) in legal aid funding for immigrants and refugees.
Trudeau announced the injection of funding as the Canadian province of Ontario's leadership decided to slash the budget for provincial legal aid by 30 percent.
The province had argued that the Trudeau administration should be footing the bill for the program, attributing a 158 percent increase in claims over the span of four years to changes to federal immigration policies.
Lawyers representing immigrants and refugees applauded the federal government's decision, with Maureen Silcoff, President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, thanking the Trudeau government for addressing the "crisis" refugees and immigrants in Ontario have faced after the province "abruptly canceled the refugee and immigration legal aid program in April 2019."
"No one who is facing torture in a repressive regime, no woman who ran away from severe domestic violence in a country without protections, no LGBTQ2S individual who fled to save her life, should be subject to high-stakes legal proceedings without legal counsel," Silcoff said.
"Funding for legal aid's immigration and refugee program has always been shared between the provincial and federal governments. The Ford government's reckless cuts left vulnerable people in crisis." added Raoul Boulakia, a member of the Refugee Lawyers Association of Ontario's Executive. "We applaud this announcement from the federal government, which is right to step in to avoid such irreparable harm to immigrants and refugees."
With a federal election expected to take place in October on the horizon, Trudeau's government has been seeking to resolidify its commitment to welcoming migrants, asylum seekers and refugees into the country, with the Canadian government announcing plans to attract a million immigrants over three years.
In a recent interview with Newsweek, Ahmed Hussen, Canada's immigration minister, sought to reaffirm that commitment, asserting that Canada was "very lucky" to "by and large...have a population that generally supports immigration," despite the "anti-immigrant narratives" being espoused by leadersw in the U.S. and around the world.
