"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” Those words were written by poet Emma Lazarus and placed on the United States’ Statue of Liberty. Since 1903, they have welcomed millions of immigrants as they entered New York harbor. Now, a top U.S. official says the words mean “give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge.” Ken Cuccinelli is the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. On Tuesday, he told NPR that the words from Lazarus were put on the Statue of Liberty at almost the same time as the first public charge law was passed. Cuccinelli’s comment came a day after he announced a new rule to deny green cards to immigrants who become a public charge.