(Reuters) – The U.S. government is reviving a rule that could deny permanent residency to immigrants who ​use public benefits such as food stamps ‌and Medicaid, the Department of Homeland Security said on Thursday.

The administration of President Donald Trump, determined to crack ​down on what it calls illegal immigration, ​says people seeking green cards should not be “public ⁠charges” who are primarily dependent on government ​subsistence.

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The change — announced in an official post by ​the DHS — will take effect on September 18 this year.

The original rule, adopted in 2019 during Trump’s first term in ​power, significantly expanded the definition of a ​public charge to include anyone who received a government benefit ‌for ⁠more than 12 months in any three-year period.

This broad approach was abandoned in 2022 during the Biden administration, which narrowed the grounds for potentially denying a ​green card ​to immigrants.

In ⁠a post on X, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said the ​revived rule underlined the intent “that aliens in ​the ⁠United States be self-reliant and not dependent on taxpayer-funded government benefits.”

The original rule was heavily criticized by ⁠immigrant ​advocates who said it unfairly ​targeted poor people and would bar many people from obtaining ​permanent residenc

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: US to revive rule that could deny green cards to immigrants using public benefits.