Trump news: White House reveals new rules to keep impoverished immigrants out of US, as Epstein autopsy results expected amid deluge of conspiracy theories
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Donald Trump - currently on holiday at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey - has again stoked controversy by retweeting unfounded conspiracy theories about the apparent suicide of billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in a New York jail cell on Saturday.
Democratic 2020 contenders Beto O'Rourke and Cory Booker have led the condemnation of the president, accusing him of seeking to divert attention from the bad press he suffered in the aftermath of the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings by giving oxygen to unfounded rumours linking Epstein, a former friend of Mr Trump himself, to his precursor in the White House, Bill Clinton.
The White House has meanwhile introduced tough new immigration measures that could deny visas and permanent residency to hundreds of thousands of people for being too poor.
The White House administration announced it was moving forward with one of its most aggressive steps yet to restrict legal immigration, denying green cards to many migrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance.
Federal law already requires those seeking to become permanent residents and gain legal status to prove they will not be a burden to the US — a “public charge,” in government speak — but the new rules detail a broader range of programs that could disqualify them.
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Show all 31It’s part of a dramatic overhaul of the nation’s immigration system that the administration has been trying to put into place.
While much of the attention has focused on Mr Trump’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, the new change targets people who entered the United States legally and are seeking permanent status.
It's also part of an effort to move the US to a system that focuses on immigrants’ skills instead of emphasizing the reunification of families.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services will now weigh public assistance along with other factors such as education, household income and health to determine whether to grant legal status.
The rules will take effect in mid-October. They don’t apply to US citizens, even if the US citizen is related to an immigrant who is subject to them.
The acting director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ken Cuccinelli, said the rule change fits with the Republican president’s message.
“We want to see people coming to this country who are self-sufficient,” Mr Cuccinelli said. “That’s a core principle of the American dream. It’s deeply embedded in our history, and particularly our history related to legal immigration.”
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
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Ken Cuccinelli, Trump's acting director of the Citizenship and Immigration Services, is giving a press conference on the ICE raids last week and is talking tough.
Meanwhile, the administration has unveiled new rules that could deny visas and permanent residency to hundreds of thousands of people for being insufficiently wealthy.
France is demanding its own investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, reports Tom Embury-Dennis.
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Attorney General William Barr said Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged conspirators “should not rest easy” after the accused sex trafficker’s apparent suicide in federal custody Saturday, warning federal investigators were still probing the disgraced billionaire's accused crimes.
Speaking at a police conference in New Orleans, the attorney general said there were “serious irregularities” within the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York, where Epstein was awaiting trial.
The 66-year-old was facing new charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy after years of allegations he operated an international sex trafficking ring.
The federal correctional centre “failed to adequately secure this prisoner,” Mr Barr said, while declining to provide specific details.
Story to come...
The Independent's Andrew Buncombe reports:
The Trump administration has unveiled new rules that could deny visas and permanent residency to hundreds of thousands of people for being too poor.
In the latest effort by the president to place a tough immigration policy at the centre of his 2020 reelection campaign, the new rules will reject applicants for temporary or permanent visas for failing to meet income standards or for receiving public assistance such as welfare, food stamps, public housing or Medicaid.
Experts have said the plan could be the most drastic of Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict both legal and illegal immigration.
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