On September 22, the Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security announced a proposed rule referred to as the “public charge” rule. Women’s Law Project filed a formal response strongly opposing the rule, which you can read here.
Today, in a 5-4 vote along ideological lines, the U.S. Supreme Court Justices said they would let the controversial immigration rules go forward even as lower courts wrestle with multiple legal challenges against them.
“Today is another sad day for immigrants and a shameful one for our country. We have shut the golden door on the poor and huddled masses. Trump’s public charge rule effectively creates an immigration system that favors wealth over hard-working individuals and families,” says Women’s Law Project staff attorney Christine Castro, who authored WLP’s comments on the rule. “These radical proposed changes will undermine the health and safety of immigrant families, especially immigrant mothers.”
Under current policy, immigration officials can deny certain immigrants a visa or a green card if the official finds the immigrant would be a “public charge,” meaning someone deemed likely to become “primarily dependent” on the government for financial support. Under current rules, officials are only allowed to consider an immigrant’s current or past receipt of cash assistance programs like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) when predicting whether someone will become a “public charge.” (Only 3 percent of noncitizens use these programs.)
Trump’s new rule expands the list of factors to be counted against a person to include safety-net programs like SNAP (“food stamps”), Section 8, Medicaid, earning a low income, English proficiency, age (specifically, being over 60 or under 18 years old), having a low credit score, having a large family, and having a medical condition.
“The rule’s preference for immigrants who speak English would codify the Trump Administration’s xenophobic rhetoric into actual policy and clearly targets people of color who are less likely to already speak English,” says Castro.
Under the new rule, legal immigrants could be denied green cards or visas if they’ve used or are suspected of having used Medicaid, SNAP, or other safety-net programs. Currently, one in seven Americans rely on Medicaid, including two out of every five children, five in eight nursing home residents, and one in three people with disabilities.
If you are worried about how this rule may affect your family or loved ones, Protecting Immigrant Families has published a Know Your Rights guide in multiple languages that you can access here.
For more information or to request an interview with a WLP attorney contact Tara Murtha at tmurtha@womenslawproject.org.
The Women’s Law Project is a public interest law center devoted to defending and expanding the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ people in Pennsylvania and beyond.
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