Washington (CNN) The Trump administration on Saturday revealed its plan to make it harder for immigrants to come to or stay in the United States if they or their family may use certain public benefits.

The proposed rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security could make immigrants seeking to enter the United States ineligible for visas or green cards if they are deemed likely to receive certain public benefits once they come to the country.

Immigrants could also be denied a change in legal status once in the US if they received or are likely in the future to use public benefits, such as public housing and food stamps equivalent to a certain monetary threshold.

The rule is a vast expansion of existing interpretations of what is considered a "public charge," or someone dependent or likely to become dependent on government. The "public charge" concept has a long history in immigration law, DHS noted, though the proposal would be a much broader take on it.

If the rule survives widely expected legal changes, it could mark a sea change that allows far more immigrants to be rejected from the US or force them to choose to forgo benefits that they or family members would otherwise be eligible to receive.

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