The rule, which goes into effect on Friday, updates a policy dating back to the 19th century that the U.S. has long used to prohibit immigrants who are believed to be likely to become a “public charge” from getting green cards.
The rule marks the latest move in Trump’s efforts to sharply restrict both illegal and legal immigration. The President enacted a similar change during his first Administration, but the effort was subjected to court challenges and ultimately rescinded by his successor, Joe Biden.
Here’s what to know about the new rule and how it could affect immigrants.
Historically, officials reviewing these types of applications have only taken into account cash benefit programs—for instance, Supplemental Security Income from Social Security—as “public benefits” that could lead to an immigrant being deemed a “public charge” and having their green card application denied. They have usually not deemed non-cash public benefits, such as Medicaid and food stamps, as programs that would disqualify an immigrant from obtaining permanent resident status.
When former President Joe Biden was in office, he officially rescinded Trump’s rule and stipulated that non-cash benefits would not result in an immigrant being considered a “public charge.”
How is the Trump Administration’s new policy different from the long-standing “public charge” rule?
The guidance, though, is vague—it doesn’t include a full list of the benefits that can be taken into consideration, saying only that immigration officers will be “using good judgment and discretion” and will be “making individualized, fact-specific public charge inadmissibility determinations, based on a totality of the alien’s circumstances.”
Adriana Cadena, the executive director of the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition, says she worries that, because the new policy is so broad, it “opens the door for abuses by immigration officials” during the green card application process.
How could the Trump Administration’s new rule affect immigrants?
Immigration experts say that the new policy could result in more green card applications being rejected, as well as cause many immigrants to delay seeking permanent resident status.
People who do not have permanent resident status in the U.S. are not eligible for many public assistance programs, but experts also warn that the new rule could result in immigrants disenrolling from public benefit programs that they or their children are eligible for because they are afraid of potentially harming their chances of obtaining a green card in the future.
Kuck says he fears that this could lead to a situation where, for example, if a green card applicant’s child who is a U.S. citizen receives a public benefit, such as a free school lunch program, that could lead to their parent’s application being denied.
Cadena says the new rule is “forcing families to choose between either being able to adjust their status in the future or be able to have access to essential programs like food and child care.”
DHS has previously estimated that the rollout of the “public charge” change could lead to more than 950,000 people disenrolling from or choosing not to enroll in public assistance programs.
“This is just one small factor or small piece of the entire immigration system, I think, that is under attack,” Shepard says.
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