Public Charge Injunction, PIF Transitions & Upcoming Webinar 

Dear Allies,

This week, we’re riding high from the wonderful news of finding ourselves back in preliminary injunction land, preventing implementation of the DHS and DOS public charge regulations (for now!). Please find more updates on the injunctions below, our COVID 4.0 federal advocacy, an upcoming webinar/retrospective of this past year, and more research that elucidates the continuing harms of public charge. 

On a personal note, this is my last week at NILC and with the PIF Campaign (Connie). I’m so grateful to have had the chance to work with each and every one of you, and am leaving the Campaign with wonderful memories and friendships. I’m so incredibly proud and humbled by what we were able to accomplish together in the past 2.5 years that I’ve been with PIF. Thank you so much for your thought partnership and willingness to contribute to the overall goals of the Campaign. I will be transitioning into a role where I will get to work more directly with impacted communities, so this won’t be goodbye! 

Please check out next week’s eblast to meet Eddie Carmona, who will be joining NILC and PIF starting August 10. 

As we shared last week, on July 29, a federal judge in New York granted nationwide preliminary injunctions that put the DHS public charge regulations on hold for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic emergency and put on hold indefinitely the State Department regulations and a presidential proclamation that would restrict immigration to the United States by people who are uninsured and cannot pay the costs of their health care.  Below are a few FAQs on implementation. We have also updated our Public Charge: What Advocates Need to Know Fact Sheet. 

What happens next?

• We anticipate that the federal government will continue to push to overturn the preliminary injunctions but legal counsel are committed to continuing to fight these policies until we have final decisions on the merits of the cases.

• Following the decision, USCIS issued clarifying guidance which says that the agency is not using the new rule as of July 29 (which presumably includes evaluating previously submitted applications). We are still waiting to hear how the DOS injunction will be applied, but for now, the FAM guidance for public charge remains blank.

• Because we do not know how long the orders will remain in place, we are holding off on issuing new community education materials for the time being. However, many of our existing community facing documents remain applicable, including this document with information on keeping kids enrolled, and this know your rights document with key messages. Here are a few other topline community-facing messages to keep in mind.

  • As long as the New York District Court’s injunction remains in place, the public charge rule continues to be blocked nationwide. 

  • People applying for LPR status should not have to worry about use of health, housing and nutrition benefits right now as they will not factor into their applications. 

  • USCIS had already announced that testing, prevention, or treatment for COVID-19 will NOT be used against immigrants in a public charge test. Immigrant families should seek the care they need during this difficult time.

  • We ask immigrant families to get the facts — the Trump administration wants you to be afraid, but with the right information, you can make the best choice for your family.

Unprecedented and sustained attacks by the Trump Administration have left many families terrified of what happens when they leave their homes and reluctant to seek resources that can help their families thrive. Last week, CLASP released two new reports that highlight findings from in-depth interviews with professionals serving immigrant families in the metropolitan areas of Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; and Columbia, SC. CLASP conducted this research in collaboration with Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, and South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center. Nearly every interviewee shared stories of immigrant families avoiding publicly funded health and nutrition services for which they are eligible. 

On August 12 from 4-5pm ET / 1-2pm PT, please join PIF and our partners  for a retrospective webinar that will take a look at how we have collectively challenged the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) final public charge rule, which was published one year ago -- in August 2019. Our speakers from across the PIF Campaign will take a look at the different strategies that advocates and organizers used to challenge the public charge regulations from DHS and the State Department. From litigation to implementation, we will look at where we were a year ago, what the journey has looked like up to now, and what the road ahead could potentially take us next. Register here.

As you know, we are STILL waiting on Congress to take action on a COVID relief bill before the August recess. If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to speak up, NOW is the time. We need all hands on deck to ensure that immigrants are not once again excluded. Below are our materials to support our Federal Advocacy efforts. 

• Check out our updated federal advocacy toolkit available at bit.ly/PIFCOVIDKIT.  The toolkit includes federal policy asks, key messages, state fact sheets, a social media toolkit, and more.

• Direct your allies, members or other constituents to go to PIF’s Take Action page at bit.ly/ActForImmigrantFamilies and ask them to contact their Member of Congress with just a few clicks!

• Get social on Twitter and Facebook with the PIF Social Media Toolkit at bit.ly/SocialforImmigrantFamilies. Tag your Members and ask your network to tweet; or set up a district-focused tweetstorm. 

Thank you for your continued partnership!

Madison Allen (CLASP)
Connie Choi & Jenny Rejeske (NILC)

Visit us at https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/