Trump's top immigration official reimagined the Statue of Liberty poem to argue the US should welcome only immigrants 'who can stand on their own 2 feet'

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Trump's top immigration official reimagined the Statue of Liberty poem to argue the US should welcome only immigrants 'who can stand on their own 2 feet'

 

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Acting Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Acting Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli, speaks during a briefing at the White House, Monday, Aug. 12, 2019, in Washington

  • A Trump immigration official gave his own update on the iconic Statue of Liberty poem to make the case for a new rule effectively barring immigrants likely to use public benefits from entering the country.
  • In an interview on NPR's Morning Edition, US Citizenship and Immigration Services Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli was asked whether he agreed the poem engraved on the Statue of Liberty was part of the American ethos.
  • Referring to the new rule, Cuccinelli said the iconic poem should be updated to "'Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge.'" 
  • The NPR interview comes after the Trump administration announced that it was seeking to implement a new "public charge" rule that could reject green cards to immigrants using or deemed likely to use public assistance benefits like food stamps, housing vouchers, or Medicaid. 
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A Trump immigration official reimagined the iconic Statue of Liberty poem to make the case for a new rule effectively barring immigrants likely to use public assistance benefits from entering the country, saying the United States should only welcome people "who can stand on their own two feet."

In an interview on NPR's Morning Edition, US Citizenship and Immigration Services Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli was asked whether he agreed that the poem engraved on the Statue of Liberty by Emma Lazarus was part of the American ethos. Lazarus famously wrote, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." 

 

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"They certainly are: 'Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge,'" Cuccinelli replied, referring to the new rule. 

Read more: The Trump administration is planning to roll out a new rule rejecting green cards for immigrants on food stamps and other public aid

Other Trump officials have used the Lazarus poem to argue for less immigration. White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, the architect of President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration, said two years ago the poem was added later and "not actually part of the original Statue of Liberty."

The sonnet was used to aid fundraising for the statue's pedestal in 1883 and it was inscribed on a plaque in 1903. The Statue of Liberty was formally unveiled as a gift from France to the US in 1886.

Cuccinelli 's NPR interview comes after the Trump administration announced on Monday that it was seeking to implement a new "public charge" rule that could reject green cards to immigrants using or deemed likely to use public assistance benefits like food stamps, housing vouchers, or Medicaid. 

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Read more: The Trump administration's new green-card rule could be 'a backdoor' to immigration reform, experts say

Set to take effect in mid-October, it would enact much stricter standards for applicants seeking legal permanent residency in the United States with factors like English-language skills, education, and wealth assuming greater importance. Trump has sought to drastically reduce the flow of legal and illegal immigration to the United States during his presidency.

The Trump administration says its only seeking to create a more definition of the term "public charge." But critics contend the change will skew the process in favor of wealthier and better-educated immigrants.

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