The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to move forward with a rule that would make it easier to deny legal status to immigrants whose families are deemed likely to use publicly funded programs, reports The Hill.
A federal appeals court in New York last week blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the "public charge" rule from being implemented.
The rule would withhold green cards from immigrants likely to require government assistance such as Medicaid or food stamps. The policy would also examine the likelihood of an immigrant using the benefits in the future.
Legal immigration declined by almost 87,000 by more than 7% between fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2018, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
"Excluding refugees means 122,412 fewer legal immigrants became lawful permanent residents in FY 2018 than in FY 2016, a decline of 11.5%," according to a National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) analysis.
A spokesperson for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services last week in a statement said the "public charge inadmissibility rule enforces long-standing immigration law that Congress reaffirmed in 1996."