Reminding some people of Hitler's treatment of the disabled during the Holocaust, the Trump administration is taking steps to make it harder for disabled people and their families to obtain a visa or permanent residency in the U.S.
Under a proposal from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the use, or potential use, of public services by immigrants or family members will count as "heavily weighted negative factors" in the decision-making process.
The draft document says the goal is to make sure those seeking entry will be self-sufficient and less likely to use public services. I guess Trump and his cronies simply choose to ignore the inscription on the Statue of Liberty:
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
"This rule will have a disproportionate and discriminatory impact on people with disabilities," said Julia Bascom, executive director at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. "Disability or need for supports and services should never impact someone's immigration status."
According to Disability Scoop, the proposed regulation would update guidance that considered two benefits as negatives -- cash assistance and long-term hospital care when considering disabled people for immigration. That list would be expanded to numerous social services, including most government-funded health care. These would include high-cost medical conditions and the use of such social services as food assistance, Medicaid, unemployment and disability benefits. The category “mental disorders” is on a list of the five most expensive health conditions contained in the draft regulations.
Disabled People & the Holocaust
When Debbie Winkler, of Sykesville, MD, learned about the proposed changes in the treatment of disabled people seeking to immigrate, she was appalled.
"It was so strange reading this article, mainly because I had Holocaust survivors in my family who told me about Hitler's discrimination with regard to adults and children with disabilities. So many were killed in the camps because of this," said Winkler, who trains assistance and therapy dogs and works with disabled people.
"So this article just hit me hard!" She was referring to the disability scoop article."Hitler killed disabled people," wrote a Facebook commenter after reading that article.
"Won't be long before they ostracize US Citizens as well. They are allready trying to gut the ADA act," wrote another.
And finally, this Facebook comment sums it up: "What other cruel thing can he do?"