Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli implementation of the “public charge” rule has some Democrats crying foul, including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who in recent days has gone as far as saying such policy advances a “white supremacist ideology.”

Under the rule, immigrants who are receiving some type of benefit from the government for a certain period would be labeled a “public charge” and could be denied a green card by immigration officials.

During an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Last Word” on Friday,” Wasserman Schultz explained to guest host Ali Velshi why she viewed that as “white supremacist ideology,” a claim she pushed in a hearing with Cuccinelli earlier in the week.

“The question I was asking was about the public charge rule that Ken Cuccinelli advanced, which would deny immigration to an individual who may become what he called a public charge if they needed benefits when they come to the United States,” she said. “And that was – that is intimidating thousands of families and having them withdraw their children from vital public programs that keep them healthy and safe.”

“And he couldn’t even answer the simple question I was asking, was – how many children did that public charge rule affect?” Wasserman Schultz continued. “He had no idea because he didn’t care. And that further underscored what I was saying, which is that they have been persecuting people of color, their immigration policy advances a white supremacist ideology, and I just called it out because I had that opportunity.”

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