On August 14, 2019, DHS published a final rule making sweeping changes to the "public charge" test.  Several organizations and states have filed lawsuits to challenge this harmful rule. The proposed rule represents a radical change in current policy that is antithetical to our values and would have a harmful impact on individuals, families, and our communities.

What’s at Stake: The public charge rule disproportionately blocks immigrants of color from obtaining green cards and inhibits immigrant workers and foreign students from extending or changing their visas. The new rule dramatically expands the public charge test and will exclude anyone who may use, at any time in the future, a supplemental benefit such as non-emergency Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), and subsidized housing.  The rule also penalizes senior and low-income immigrants by imposing an unprecedented test that will consider factors such as age, lack of English language proficiency, and lack of access of private health insurance in assessing who may be “likely” to become a public charge.

Despite the overwhelming outcry opposing the rule, the rule is set to take effect on October 15, 2019, unless it can be delayed, and has already had a chilling effect on immigrants.

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