In case you missed it, DHS’s final public charge rule was officially posted to the Federal Register today.
** URGENT UPDATES - PUBLIC CHARGE
FINAL RULE
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Dear Allies,
In case you missed it, DHS’s final public charge rule has been officially posted ([link removed]) . If litigation does not prevent the rule from taking effect, the policy will become effective on October 15, 2019. Let’s fight fear with facts - the public charge rule was designed to be confusing, complicated, and scary on purpose. People have rights in this country no matter where they are born or the color of their skin. The more we know about these rights, the harder it is for the Trump administration to scare the communities we serve. Click here to read NILC and CLASP’s joint statement on the final rule. ([link removed])
Telephonic Hill Briefing - The Campaign facilitated a rapid response telephonic briefing for Congressional staffers yesterday, August 13. This call was focused on updating Hill staff; we will be scheduling a briefing for field staff who need to respond to constitute questions soon.
We held an in-depth webinar early today, and will be repeating our presentation on Friday to accommodate those that were unable to join. More information (including a registration link) can be found below. To view a recording of today’s webinar, click here ([link removed]) . To view slides from the webinar, click here ([link removed]) .
** DHS Rule Finalization - Campaign Webinar
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Friday, August 15 at 3:00pm ET (12:00pm PT)
**
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Please join the Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign for a Field Webinar on the recently finalized DHS public charge rule. We will go over toplines of the final rule, share how your organization can best respond, and share top messaging and talking points.
REGISTER FOR FRIDAY'S WEBINAR ([link removed])
** COMMUNITY EDUCATION MATERIALS
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We have updated two of our most commonly requested community education documents to reflect the details of the DHS final rule. Templates and translations of these materials will be available soon.
* Let’s Talk About Public Charge ([link removed]) - This resource is designed to help immigrants, mixed-status families, and communities understand the core elements of public charge.
* Updated Fact Sheet ([link removed]) - This resources explains key elements of the new DHS finalized rule and the changes from previous public charge policy.
* Getting the Help You Need ([link removed]) - This resource is designed for people that work directly with immigrant families to help them understand whether they are subject to public charge.
* You Have Rights: Protect Your Health ([link removed]) - (NEW LANGUAGES) - We are happy to share new translated copies of this resource. Available in Spanish ([link removed]) , French ([link removed]) , Chinese ([link removed]) , Arabic ([link removed]) and more languages coming soon. This resource is designed to help mixed-status families know more about their rights when it comes to going to the doctor or enrolling in health insurance.
** TOPLINE ANALYSIS: FINAL PUBLIC CHARGE RULE
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The final rule has changed slightly from the proposal submitted back in October 2018. Below is our initial analysis of the final rule. More in-depth analysis and an updated FAQ is forthcoming.
* DEFINITION OF PUBLIC CHARGE: A person who “receives one or more public benefits [from the list below]… for more than 12 months in the aggregate within any 36-month period (such that, for instance, receipt of two benefits in one month counts as two months).”
* BENEFITS CONSIDERED UNDER THE PUBLIC CHARGE TEST
+ Federal, State, Local and Tribal Cash Assistance for Income Maintenance (such as TANF, SSI, or General Assistance)
+ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or Food Stamps)
+ Medicaid with exceptions for benefits received by children under the age of 21 and pregnant women (up to 60 days post-partum), and for all treatment for emergency medical conditions.
+ Public Housing or Section 8 Housing Vouchers and Project Based Assistance
* TOTALITY OF CIRCUMSTANCES (TOC) TEST: Immigration officials will look more closely at a variety of circumstances including income, age, education, skills, health, family status, and whether the immigrant has an affidavit of support. We will update you all on the new parameters of the TOC test in the coming days. For now, we can tell you:
+ Income and Financial Status
o Having an income under 125% of the Federal Poverty Level will be considered a negative favor.
o Having an income over 250% Federal Poverty Level will be considered a heavily-weighed positive factor
+ Age
o Being under the age of 18 or over the age of 61 will be considered a negative factor.
+ Health
o Having a medical condition likely to require extensive treatment, institutionalization or interfere with the ability to care for self, attend school or work will be considered a negative factor.
** SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:
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* The rule is not in effect yet. It will apply only to applications submitted on or after October 15, 2019. Newly-named benefits used prior to that date will not be considered.
* Not everyone is subject to the rule. Many immigrants are exempt from the public charge inadmissibility ground. Benefits used by family members will not be counted.
* Positive factors can be weighed against negative factors in this forward-looking test.
* Every situation is different. You can consult with an immigration attorney if you have questions about your own case.
** WE NEED YOUR HELP!
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* Share Your Analysis! - DHS Responses to Arguments Form ([link removed]) - Please share your own organization’s analysis of the final DHS rule on public charge - and how DHS did (or did not) respond to issues raised in public comments submitted on the proposed rule.
* Take Action with APIAHF - This action alert asks Members of Congress to cosponsor H.R.3222, the No Federal Funds for Public Charge Act of 2019 and speak out against this offensive policy. [link removed].
* Activate your state and local networks. Please gather your partners to think through how to mitigate and document the harm. See our new fact sheet ([link removed]) for ideas, spearheaded by our State Policy Subcommittee!
* Join Our Tweetstorm for Public Charge - Stay tuned for a PIF Campaign tweetstorm. We’ll be sharing social media content, and you can also look for examples of posts at @NILC and @CLASP_DC on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will be sharing a digital toolkit related to access to public benefits in the next few days.
If you have more specific questions regarding the public charge rule, please submit your questions in our FAQ Form ([link removed]) . We’ll do our best to update our materials to incorporate your policy questions. If you are an individual with questions, please submit them here ([link removed]) . Please know that we cannot answer questions about specific legal cases, but will try to direct you to available resources and partners in your area.
The next few months will be very intensive, and we are so glad to have all of you with us in this fight. You give us hope! Let’s send a loud message to the country and to Congress: All people, no matter their socioeconomic or immigration status, are worthy of liberty, opportunity, and the American life.
We will update you all very soon!
Elizabeth Lower-Basch (Center for Law and Social Policy), and
Connie Choi (National Immigration Law Center), on behalf of the Co-chairs of the Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign
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To view more resources and ways to take action go to www.protectingimmigrantfamilies.org
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