MIAMI– The Trump administration is reviving a rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits that could include food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers and others.

The policy, known as “public charge,” appeared Thursday in the Federal Register and will be formally published on July 20.

The policy was first implemented in February 2020 as one of President Donald Trump’s moves to limit legal immigration during his first administration, but was reversed after Democratic President Joe Biden came to power.

Under the policy, green card applicants must demonstrate that they would not be a burden to the country or a “public charge.”

His return comes as the Republican administration is implementing a hardline policy to curb both illegal and legal immigration, and as the cost of health care and food is rising.

The federal government “is reaffirming the requirement for self-sufficiency, protecting public resources, and ending policies that fostered dependency at the expense of hard-working American taxpayers,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a post posted to its X account.

“Under President Trump, USCIS is restoring the basic principle that immigrants should be able to support themselves,” the post said. The agency said the rule will go into effect on September 18.

While the administration’s crackdown on immigration increasingly focuses on deportations and enforcement in cities across the country and at borders and points of entry, it has also taken steps targeting legal immigrants and mixed-status families.

Federal law already requires those seeking permanent residency or legal status to prove they will not become a public charge. The Trump administration’s rule, however, includes a broader range of programs that could disqualify them.

The Trump administration first promoted the rule in 2018 as a way to ensure that only those who were self-sufficient came to the United States. Immigrant rights advocates criticized it, saying it amounted to a “wealth test.” Public health experts said it would lead to worse health outcomes.

Nongovernmental organizations said the policy generated confusion and fear and caused many immigrants and their American-born family members to decide not to apply for the benefits and services to which they were entitled.