DHS & DOS Public Charge Rules in Effect Today

Dear Allies,

Today is the day we hoped would never come – the Trump administration’s discriminatory public charge regulations will go into effect in the U.S. and at consular offices abroad. 

On Friday evening, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision granting a stay of the last public charge injunction standing in Illinois. This means that today, February 24, the regulations from the Department of Homeland Security take effect nationwide while the litigation proceeds on the merits in the lower courts. 

The State Department’s parallel public charge regulation, which governs how the test is implemented abroad, is also set to go into effect today. On Friday, a New York District Court denied a motion that would prevent the DOS rule from going into effect on February 24, and the Trump administration has issued the final forms and manual changes required to implement the regulation.  

CLASP and NILC have both issued statements and we encourage our partners to join us in our collective efforts to fight fear with facts. Keep reading for more information about how you can participate in today’s #ProtectFamilies Teach-In Day of Action.

Let's Fight Fear with Facts

Today, our members and allies are taking action at events across the country. We have developed a #ProtectFamilies Teach-In Toolkit which includes sample presentations, (editable) community-facing materials, FAQs, and talking points for you to use.

We have 2 PIF events scheduled:

• Today at 2pm ET / 11am PT, NILC and CLASP will host a tweetstorm to raise awareness, amplify "Know Your Rights" materials, and highlight all the teach-ins taking place across the country. Please join us! Click here to access the Teach-In Social Media Toolkit and our Public Benefits Awareness Social Media Toolkit.

• Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 25 at 1pm ET/ 10am PT, please join the PIF Campaign for a Public Charge 101 webinar. We will describe the DHS and DOS regulations and explain what you need to know if you work with immigrant families. We will also cover how you can take action and get more involved with the work of the PIF Campaign. Click here to register. 

• Arkansas Immigrant Defense will hold a Facebook Live educational video in English and Spanish.
• MIRA Coalition and Health Care for All are hosting a community messaging workshop at Boston City Hall. This “two-way teach-in” will share key messages and elicit feedback from community organizations on unmet needs and ways to further improve messaging and outreach.
• The UndocuBlack Network will be taking part in the tweet storm and promoting KYR materials to their network.
• Covering Wisconsin will hold a webinar for professionals/ providers/ agencies in Wisconsin who work with immigrant communities.

New Report From NILC

A new report from the National Immigration Law Center documents how the DHS public charge rule is already inflicting harm on immigrant communities. Drawing on interviews with service providers who work with immigrant families, the report identifies how the proposed rule inhibited immigrant families’ use of health and nutrition programs and services for which they were eligible—well before the final rule was implemented. 

Thank you for your continued partnership!

Madison Allen, Center for Law and Social Policy, &
Connie Choi, National Immigration Law Center

Visit us at https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/