Mixed-status immigrant households expected to lose benefits under new public charge rule

A new USCIS rule taking effect September 18 lets immigration officers weigh enrollment in Medicaid, CHIP and SNAP when deciding green card and visa applications, reversing 2022 Biden-era restrictions. Advocates warn mixed-status households will disenroll citizen children out of fear, even though those children remain eligible.

The Department of Homeland Security itself acknowledged last November that the rule would affect U.S. citizens in these households and estimated federal and state spending could drop by nearly $9 billion annually from forgone enrollment, with ripple effects on hospitals, grocers and landlords. KFF estimates between 1.4 million and 4.1 million Medicaid and CHIP enrollees in noncitizen households could disenroll.

Pediatricians and disability advocates say the chilling effect will hit hardest among children and people with disabilities, who tend to rely more on public benefits. Trump has said his administration seeks to protect benefits for citizens in need, even as his own agency projects citizen children losing access to them.

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