A rule rolled out by President Donald Trump's administration to deny permanent residency to hundreds of thousands of people who do not meet income guidelines is actually a law that's been on the books for more than a century, Marc Lotter, the strategic communications director for the president's reelection campaign, insisted Monday.
"As a country, we have long-sought immigrants who have the skills to succeed in our country," Lotter told Fox News' "Outnumbered Overtime."
"All it is saying is that whether you want to come to our country or whether you are already an immigrant into our country, if you want to take that next step in terms of your citizenship or your status as a legal resident, you need to be able to stand up on your own two feet and support yourself."
Lotter further said that 58% of immigrant households are receiving at least one form of welfare, so "we need to make sure that we are enforcing our laws and welcoming those who have the ability to succeed in this country and make us a better place."
The new rule is "one factor" in a "very large system of factors" that are used when determining if someone can have a green card, but not the deciding factor, and the rule could also affect people who fall on hard times "after a history of success," Lotter said.
Lotter also defended Trump for retweeting a message touting a conspiracy theory linking Bill and Hillary Clinton to the weekend death of Jeffrey Epstein.
"I think the president was basically asking some of the questions that we saw millions of Americans probably asking themselves, whether it be on social media or just even in their own private conversations, about the very strange circumstances around this person's death," said Lotter.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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