New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stood before cameras this week and accused the federal government of waging a "campaign of violence and terror" against immigrants.

Not a policy disagreement.

That's the word a sitting American mayor chose to describe the enforcement of federal immigration law by his own country's government. I'll give him this much — it's certainly a word. Not an accurate one. But a word.

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued an updated public charge rule, set to take effect this week, expanding what officers may weigh when deciding whether a green card or visa applicant is likely to become dependent on government assistance. The new rule lets officers factor in noncash benefits — Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers — alongside the cash benefits the Biden administration had narrowed the standard to in 2022.

In plain English: if you're applying to immigrate here, the government wants to know whether you can actually support yourself, or whether American taxpayers will be picking up the tab.

The same basic principle has existed in American immigration law for well over a century — going back to the Immigration Act of 1882, self-sufficiency has been part of the bargain for the........

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