Public Charge: What Can States Do To Help?

Dear Allies,

With the public charge regulations now in effect, we want to support your efforts to advance pro-immigrant policies at the state level. In today’s email, we have information about our updated state policy toolkit. We are also sharing talking points about the coronavirus. 

STATE POLICY TOOLKIT

The PIF Campaign has updated our Toolkit for State and Local Government Officials. The toolkit includes talking points, FAQs, know your rights materials, and state-level data tools. The toolkit also has an overview of key actions that states, localities and service providers can take to minimize the impact of new public charge rules. We encourage advocates to share this toolkit and list of key actions with state and local government officials seeking to minimize harms of the public charge regulations. If your state is doing innovative work in this area that is not already captured by the toolkit, we’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to Andrea Kovach at the Shriver Center ([email protected]). 

The PIF Campaign is also developing tools and guidance specifically for benefit-granting agencies who may be asked to help with completion of new forms implementing the public charge regulations. If you work for or closely with a benefit-granting agency and would like to receive this information when it is finalized, please email Madison Allen ([email protected]).

CORONAVIRUS MESSAGING

Several allies have called for halting the implementation of public charge in order to protect the public’s health. Because linking immigrants and infectious disease is a favorite tactic of anti-immigrant activists, we do not encourage proactive outreach on this issue. We are working to engage health partners in preparing talking points. For the moment, here is our recommended approach.

Upcoming Webinars

Older Immigrants and Public Charge 
March 9 at 2pm ET, 11am PT. 

This webinar, hosted by Justice in Aging, will begin with an overview of the public charge test and how it applies to older adults, discuss the current state of litigation, and provide information on what advocates need to know about the rule’s implementation.

Public Charge 101
March 17 at 1pm ET, 10am PT

Do you or your colleagues need a refresher or a first time overview of how the public charge test works today in the U.S. and abroad? If so, please join us for our live Public Charge 101 webinar. Experts from NILC and CLASP will describe the new public charge regulations in the U.S. and abroad 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.

2020 Tax Issues for Immigrant Filers
March 24 at 2pm ET, 11am PT

With the April 15th deadline for filing federal tax returns around the corner, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) invite tax practitioners, community-based organizations, constituent services staff, and low-income taxpayer clinics to join us on a webinar that will provide an overview of the current tax environment for immigrant tax filers. The webinar will address concerns about confidentiality of personal tax information for immigrants, (Individual Tax Payer Identification Number) ITIN filing and renewals, and other issues facing immigrant tax filers.

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/