Trump official tweaks Statue of Liberty poem

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration claims its effort to refocus the U.S. immigration system on merit is not a rejection of long-held American values.

The administration on Monday issued new rules that could deny green cards to immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance.

Citizenship and Immigration Services acting Director Ken Cuccinelli says President Trump’s administration is not trying to wipe away the nation’s longtime commitment to taking in immigrants in need.

But when Cuccinelli was pressed on the Emma Lazarus poem to immigrants emblazoned on the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” he answered with his own version. “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge,” Cuccinelli said.

Immigration advocates worry the new rules will scare immigrants into not asking for help.

The Los Angeles-based National Immigration Law Center immediately vowed to file a lawsuit challenging the changes that take effect in October. The group calls the new rules an attempt to redefine the legal immigration system “in order to disenfranchise communities of color and favor the wealthy.”

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles says the biggest toll will be on vulnerable populations with limited means. The group’s executive director, Angelica Salas, calls the Trump administration’s approach “cruel” and “unnecessary” with the clear objective of keeping “all immigrants out.”

In another development, lawyers asked a federal judge this week to order U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide legal access to detainees and improve conditions in detention...