Trump’s new ‘public charge’ rule tying immigrants’ benefits to green cards spurs lawsuits
Twenty-two states, D.C., and a coalition of major cities filed lawsuits Monday against a new federal rule letting immigration officers weigh use of Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, and housing assistance when deciding green card, visa, and admission applications. The rule takes effect Friday and reverses a Biden-era policy that excluded such non-cash benefits from “public charge” determinations.
The Trump administration says it is protecting taxpayer dollars and expects immigrants to be self-sufficient. The states counter with the administration's own numbers: DHS estimates put nationwide losses at $4.05 billion annually in Medicaid and CHIP transfers and roughly $1 billion in SNAP funding, much of it from citizen children in mixed-status households who disenroll out of fear.
New York City, leading the cities' suit, projects 6,000 fewer annual primary care visits and says the policy will push families away from programs that have fed and treated them for decades, according to Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The suits argue roughly 1.3 million people, including 600,000 children in the plaintiff cities alone, could lose care or coverage they remain legally entitled to.
The full dispatch is available from the source below.