John,

Today is International Migrants Day, but in the U.S, we’re witnessing the current administration ratchet up its attacks on immigrants like never before. One of these attacks is happening more silently. The change in the “public charge” rule that would affect every applicant for a green card and have dire impacts on immigrant families who make up 27% of families in the U.S.¹

The Trump administration is seeking to rescind a 2022 Biden-era rule that restored and improved upon the public charge policy in place for 20 years. The Trump administration tried to make drastic changes to public charge policy during his first term, but was blocked by the courts. They are at it again with a revised strategy to ram it through. This threatens to exacerbate fear and barriers for immigrant families seeking basic health, nutrition, and economic supports and will have widespread negative impacts on our communities.²

We only have one more day to submit a public comment against this cruel policy (the deadline is midnight tomorrow, Friday, December 19). We need everyone that believes in equitable health care, housing, nutrition, child wellness, and education to join this effort.

Click here to make your voice heard and speak out against this attack on immigrant families. Please consider editing the comment we’ve provided to help it stand out.

The current regulation states that the restriction on receiving human needs benefits applies only to the person applying for a green card or seeking to enter the U.S.; it does not include other family members who may be receiving benefits, such as citizen children in the household. Only those who are receiving cash assistance or are in or expected to need long-term care are subject to being denied a green card for being a public charge.

The proposed rule would eliminate this specific definition of public charge, leaving it to the Department of Homeland Security to determine what uses of public services count. The proposal to rescind the current rule would also open the door to consideration of family members’ use of benefits.  

The combined utter vagueness about what kinds of use of government services might count, and including the use of public benefits by family members, including citizen children who are lawfully eligible for those benefits, would create a dangerous chilling effect―significantly increasing the likelihood that people applying for green cards will be afraid to sign their children up for health, nutrition, or other benefits they qualify for.

DHS estimates that if implemented, the rule would reduce government (federal and state) benefit programs by $9 billion each year. As very few immigrants who do not already have green cards are now eligible for public benefits, almost all of this impact is likely to come from reduced use by U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, especially children.

The mass confusion this will cause is the point. It’s meant to cause chaos and sow division. It’s meant to deny assistance to people who are eligible for it. We must fight back against it.

Submit a comment today to fight back against this xenophobic policy change.

Thank you for all you do,

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, CHN Action

¹ Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
² Public Charge: What Advocates Need to Know About the November 2025 Proposed Rule - NILC

-- DEBORAH'S EMAIL --

John,

The Trump administration is proposing a rule that will make it harder for immigrants to apply for green cards by opening the application process to arbitrary denials and political bias.

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Notice of Public Rulemaking to rescind a Biden-era rule on the “public charge” provision affecting lawfully present immigrants applying for green cards. Currently, the public charge provision (that is, whether a person seeking permanent status in the U.S. will require long-term public expenditures to support them) considers whether a green card applicant has ever received cash assistance or long-term nursing home care through Medicaid.

While the Trump administration hasn’t issued a current replacement for the rule, it has instead insisted that further guidance will come later, without input from the American people.

The potential harm of this rescission cannot be overstated. Immigrant families make up 27% of the U.S. population, with almost half of the people in these families U.S. citizens―mostly children.¹

We only have until this Friday to submit our official comments against this xenophobic policy change. Click here to submit your comment and consider personalizing to make your comment stand out.

By revoking the current regulation, DHS will be allowed to reject green card applicants based on obesity or any other personal characteristic the administration decides to consider, as well as the use of unspecified services. And in a drastic expansion of the administration's discretion, DHS proposes considering whether anyone in the applicant's family has used human needs programs or has health or economic histories disfavored by the administration―even citizen children or other family members who are eligible for the services they’ve signed up for.

During the first Trump administration, a similar regulation change was struck down by a federal court. The effects of that change deterred immigrant families from seeking health care right at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.² The current proposed changes threaten to have the same chilling effect.

For almost 20 years, immigration officials have reassured immigrant families that signing their eligible children up for human needs programs such as SNAP, WIC, or other means-tested programs would not affect their ability to become a lawful permanent resident. The changes proposed by the Trump administration would reverse long-standing policy regarding the public charge regulation.

Join us in leaving a comment against this anti-immigrant policy change today.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
² Advocates Hail Biden Regulation As Major Win For Immigrant Families, Urge Congress To Act