The United States has reinstated its contentious “public charge” rule, which impacts immigrants seeking green cards. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the decision, emphasizing that this measure is intended to ensure permanent residency applicants can support themselves without becoming heavily dependent on government assistance.
Under the revised rule, a broader array of public benefits will be scrutinized when evaluating a green card applicant’s likelihood of becoming a “public charge.” Programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, and housing vouchers are now included in the assessment. Moreover, immigration officials will have the authority to consider additional factors like age, health, education, and job skills in their evaluation process, according to the announcement on the legal platform JURIST.
This policy echoes a similar rule implemented by the Trump Administration in 2018, which drew criticism from immigration advocates who viewed it as a “wealth test.” The previous rule was rescinded by the Biden administration in 2020. Notably, a study by the Migration Policy Institute found that the Trump-era public charge rule had a “chilling effect,” although less than 1% of the 22.1 million immigrants in the U.S. at the time might have been ineligible for green cards due to their use of government assistance.
The reimplementation of the rule is projected to have extensive ramifications. Manatt Health, a law firm specializing in health policy, estimates that the policy could deter as many as 26 million people from utilizing government benefits. Among those affected, nearly half could be U.S. citizens, predominantly children or individuals in mixed-status families.
The rule change was recorded in the Federal Register on July 16 and is set to formally publish on July 20. With an expected effective date of September 18, this rule has reignited discussions about immigration policy and its impacts on immigrant communities across the nation.