Green Card VS Citizenship: Which Is Better Under Trump?

Now that Donald Trump has been elected for his second term, is it safe to stay a green card holder or do you need to become a citizen in order to protect your rights? Historically, about one third of all green card holders never become a U.S. citizen. But with Trump coming to office and also threatening mass deportations, all of this can change.

I'm going to break down a list of things that Trump may do in order to target green card holders during his second term and help you decide whether it is safe or not to stay a permanent resident during this administration. Plus, I will share with you all the benefits that you can expect to receive as a U.S. citizen.

Risks to LPR Under Trump

What are the risks that green card holders may encounter as a resident in the U.S. underneath the second Trump administration? Nobody can predict the future, but we can make an educated guess about what to expect from his first time in office and from the statements that they have made this election season.

For example, one of the biggest things that Trump did to endanger residents was to make the commission of any crime a deportable offense. That included minor offenses such as petty theft or getting a DUI, and it applied to everyone who was not a U.S. citizen, including green card holders.

You didn't even need to have a conviction for these crimes, just simply having a pending charge was enough to get your status taken away and for you to be removed from this country and it did not matter if your charges were 20 years old or if you have been an upstanding member of society ever since. As long as you were still a resident and a green card holder, you could get deported.

During Trump's first term, the administration also reinterpreted the Immigration and Nationality Act so that they could deport green card holders based on their country of origin. If they believe that your country of origin posed a potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences, which basically meant that it had a negative relationship with the United States, then your green card could be taken away and you could do nothing about it.

If the administration decided to cancel your legal status and deport you, they could do so without a hearing or a trial and it was perfectly legal. And if you think that the Trump administration wouldn't target green card holders, just look at what they did with the travel ban. When it was first announced, Trump's White House Chief of Staff publicly confirmed on national television that it did apply to green card holders. It wasn't until months later that they actually updated the travel ban to exclude residents.

Even after this ban was updated, green card holders from the affected countries still faced more scrutiny every time they re-entered the United States, that is most likely to resume once Trump gets back in office.

Another way that the administration targeted green card holders was by canceling the contract with the company that prints green cards. This happened in June of 2020 and led to a backlog of almost 50,000 lawful permanent residents who could not receive their green cards, even though their immigration status had been approved.

Without these cards, they were unable to start new jobs, travel internationally, open bank accounts, or even do other things that required proof of legal status without going through a lot of hassle to get proof of a stamp in their passport. It wasn't until Biden came to office and hired a new contractor that green card production resumed and returned to its normal levels. If this were to happen at the start of Trump's next administration, then we could continue to see that same delay happen again. We could see record delays for green card renewals.

Trump also increased the number of employers required to use E-Verify, an online tool that checks the employment authorization status of employees. Although it was intended to prevent undocumented workers from being able to work, it ended up causing many legal immigrants to lose their jobs due to simple errors such as an employer entering in their information incorrectly into the system.

If Trump were to get his way and make E-Verify mandatory for all employers, it's estimated that around 200,000 legal workers could lose their jobs due to these kinds of mistakes. If you think that that is unlikely, consider the fact that Trump's future vice president just sponsored a bill called The Mandatory E-Verify Act last June. It's obviously something that they are still interested in.

Another significant change that Trump made during his first administration was expanding the public charge rule, which discouraged many green card holders from even applying for public assistance. Under this rule, if an immigrant used public benefits for 12 months or more, they could later be labeled as a public charge and become ineligible to receive a green card.

However, this did not prevent persons who already had a green card from becoming fearful and not applying for benefits that they were eligible for. This included government programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, and housing assistance.

If the reason why you apply for the public benefit occurred even before you became a green card holder, you could still potentially be listed as a public charge and lose your residency status.

Now to be clear, all these changes happened during Trump's first administration, but not all of them were strictly enforced. We did not see green card holders get deported over traffic tickets or because of their country of origin. Most permanent residents who lost their status had other war serious criminal convictions, submitted fraudulent green card applications, or were found to have abandoned their residency.

But that said, the Trump administration still gave themselves the power to deport pretty much anyone that they wanted, and it's likely that they may take a similar approach this time around.

Benefits of Citizenship

So now that we know the potential risks underneath the Trump administration, should all green card holders be applying for citizenship? It's difficult to think of a reason not to. Trump has made many immigration threats a centerpiece of his second term.

He has declared already that he will carry out the most massive deportation in the history of all of the U.S., and his administration has had four years to get ready for this moment. They're likely going to bring back every policy that made life difficult for green card holders, and they'll probably introduce new ones as well, which means that now is a good time to start considering naturalizing if you have been putting it off.

Not only would it protect you from all the things that we have discussed, but it also comes with some incredible benefits, like protection against deportation. Even if immigration policies spiral out of control, U.S. citizens are protected in a way that green card holders simply are not. And while there has been some talk of denaturalization underneath Trump, it's likely to remain limited to cases involving fraud.

Also, as a U.S. citizen, you no longer need to worry about renewing your status. Citizenship is permanent, sparing you from delays or denials, which are likely to become more common underneath Trump.

In addition, there are other significant benefits to becoming a citizen, including:

-A U.S. passport that lets you travel to more than 180 countries without a visa

-The freedom to live abroad and stay abroad as long as you want without risking the loss of your status

-A stress-free return to the U.S. without worrying about being questioned by customs for your overseas visit

-The ability to vote in elections and shape the country's future

-Access to federal benefits such as social security, government jobs, and certain scholarships

-The ability to sponsor family members for residency much faster than if you were still a green card holder

-The ability to sponsor parents, children, and siblings

So what do you think? Is it time to naturalize or are there still good reasons to remain a green card holder? If you're still not sure about the idea of becoming a citizen, make sure to check out my other video, The Top 8 Reasons to Still Continue to Hold Your Green Card. In it, I explain some of the biggest reasons why immigrants decide to remain a green card holder instead of pursuing naturalization.

I'll include a link to that video above and I'll see you there.