Laws regarding immigrants likely to become a public charge
The Immigration Act of 1882 found immigrants who were "unable to take care of himself or herself without becoming a public charge" unsuitable for American citizenship and therefore denied their entry. In addition to LPC the act initiated a fifty cent head tax which would be used for bureaucratic processes. The act also denies entry of convicts. The Immigration Act of 1891 continued this exclusion:The following classes of aliens shall be excluded from admission into the United States ... All idiots,The Immigration Act of 1903 allowed the deportation of immigrants who became a public charge within their first two years in the country. In its 1915 decision in ''Gegiow v. Uhl'', theinsane Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...persons,pauper Pauperism (Lat. ''pauper'', poor) is poverty or generally the state of being poor, or particularly the condition of being a "pauper", i.e. receiving relief administered under the English Poor Laws. From this, pauperism can also be more generally ...s or persons likely to become a public charge, persons suffering from a loathsome or a dangerouscontagious disease A contagious disease is an infectious disease that is readily spread (that is, communicated) by transmission of a pathogen through contact (direct or indirect) with an infected person. A disease is often known to be contagious before medical s ..., persons who have been convicted of afelony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resul ...or other infamous crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, polygamists…
Any alien who, in the opinion of the consular officer at the time of application for a visa, or in the opinion of the Attorney General at the time of application for admission or adjustment of status, is likely at any time to become a public charge is excludable.These INA restrictions often affect decisions about visas and admission to the country, but rarely serve as a cause for deportation. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 raised the standards for sponsors of immigrants, requiring them to show greater financial capacity and obligating them to reimburse the government for means-tested public benefits received by the immigrant they sponsor.
Administrative implementation
Granting of visas to the United States is carried out by consular officials under the Department of State, while awarding immigration statuses such as Lawful Permanent Resident is done by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), and previous by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Charles Wheeler stated that prior to 1999, "DOS and INS officers exercised broad powers in interpreting this provision. Unfortunately, they sometimes applied different standards and imposed inconsistent requirements." Historian Douglas Baynton writes that "The 'public charge' provision was intended to encompass people with disabilities more generally and was left to the examining officer's discretion."1999 Guidance
In May 1999, the Immigration and Nationalization Service issued formal guidance, "Field Guidance on Deportability and Inadmissibility on Public Charge Ground," defining a public charge as someone "primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by either the receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance, or institutionalization for long-term care at government expense." Examples of disqualifying assistance include Supplemental Security Income (SSI), cash assistance from the2019 Rule
On August 12, 2019,Conditions for denial
Individuals who have physical or mental ailments along with pregnant women are most likely to be proposed as a public charge. Immigrants who were found with physical or mental ailments were prospective for exclusion. Their ailments were seen to affect their ability to obtain employment and thus qualified them as a public charge. Unmarried pregnant women seeking to migrate into the United States was presumed a public charge on account of their condition, both in the early twentieth and early twenty-first century. These women were excluded from entry and were barred from arriving into the United States. In recent years, pregnant Mexican women visiting United States doctors present doctor's notes confirming they have prepaid their bills in order to cross the border. In addition, child-rearing amongst immigrant women is also presumptive causes of public charge. Although support for children was legal, undocumented women were denied legal citizenship due to the public assistance that their children received. In these cases and those of physical and mental ailments would render an obligation to government however, the government sought no obligation in this manner. Immigrants who arrived with only twenty-five to forty dollars and with no source of employment were deemed liable to become a public charge. Immigrants were investigated through means of competent evidence. Competent evidence includes the following; *Health *Family assets *Financial status *Education *Skills *Age In the early 1900s, ''The Book of Instructions for the Medical Inspection of Immigrants'' listed pregnancy (regardless of marital status), and the sexually transmitted diseases syphilis and gonorrhea as grounds for exclusion. Immigrants who had legally entered the United States but subsequently acquired any ailments that compromised their ability to earn a living were sought for deportation. These individuals had to leave within one year. Funds were distributed for their deportation by the Bureau of Immigration (Immigration Fund).Notable cases
Maria Gambacurta
In the early 1900s, Maria Gambacurta, a twenty-year-old immigrant from Italy who had recently given birth, along with her US citizen child, was deported because the hospital in which they were seeking care was supported through public funds.Isabel Gonzalez (''Gonzalez v. Williams'')
Upon her arrival in New York City in 1902, Isabel Gonzalez was determined as liable to become a public charge as a young, pregnant, and single Puerto Rican immigrant. She was denied entry into the United States despite the arguments made on her behalf by a fiancé and family members. Nevertheless, Gonzalez was able to argue her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Gonzalez did not argue her condition as likely to become a public charge; rather, she challenged the state of Puerto Rican immigrants in America claiming citizenship. It was found that she would be considered not an alien under immigration, but she would be determined a "non-citizen national".See also
* Immigration to the United States * Welfare chauvinismReferences
{{Reflist # Bray, Ilona M., and Carl Falstrom. ''U.S. Immigration Made Easy''. Berkeley: NOLO, 2007. Print. # Hall, Prescott F. ''Immigration and its Effects upon the United States''. New York: General Books, LLC, 2009. Print. # Luibheid, Eithne. ''Entry Denied: Controlling Sexuality at the Border''. New York: University of Minnesota, 2002. Print. 1882 in law United States federal immigration and nationality legislation American legal terminology