The Trump administration’s proposed rule punishing immigrants who have accessed benefits like nutrition programs for their U.S. citizen kids hasn’t gone into effect yet, but it’s already having the consequences its mastermind, White House aide and white supremacist Stephen Miller, horrifically intended.
Providers in at least 18 states say they’ve seen drops in enrollment in programs like WIC, Politico reports, over concerns it could hinder their path to legalization and leave them vulnerable to deportation. One of these families called Jennifer Mejias-Martinez of the Shawnee County Health Department in Kansas in a panic, following reports of the administration’s plan and demanded to be dropped from WIC. “They were very, very scared,” she said.
Mejias-Martinez tried, unsuccessfully, to get them to change their mind, but fear over their future status in America won out. “It made me very sad,” she continued, “and quite frankly upset.” Other areas are also seeing similar drops in enrollment. “An agency in Longview, Texas, reported it’s losing an estimated 75 to 90 participants per month to public charge fears. In Beacon, N.Y., an agency estimated it’s lost 20 percent of its caseload.”
The administration can go ahead and claim all it wants that this proposed rule is intended to save the government some money or cut down on abuse, but that’s bull. “The WIC program is broadly supported on both sides of the aisle, because it’s been shown to lead to better health outcomes for mothers and babies, and pays dividends in savings to Medicaid.”
That fact is, the sole reasoning for this proposal is to launch yet another anti-immigrant attack at the expense of the most vulnerable, children. The well-being of all children here should be a priority, regardless of immigration status, yet the administration has shown it has contempt for them, by kidnapping some from their parents and locking them up in cages, and now by depriving others of nutrition. Apparently, “welfare” is only for Trump’s supporters.
“Immigrant advocates are expected to mount a court challenge if the expanded public charge rule is finalized,” Politico continued, “but public health advocates say the damage is already being done to women and families who are afraid to use WIC.” Making America great again by starving brown kids.
