The public charge litigation rollercoaster continues.


** Litigation Ups and Downs
------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Allies,

The public charge litigation rollercoaster continues. Two weeks ago, on July 29, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a nationwide preliminary injunction in a case called New York et al v. Department of Homeland Security et al, blocking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from enforcing the Trump administration’s new public charge rule during the period of the declared public health emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday evening, a judge on the 2nd Circuit narrowed the district court’s order by indicating that the injunction will apply only within the states in the 2nd Circuit (New York, Connecticut and Vermont).

For now, the DHS public charge regulations cannot be applied in those states but can be applied elsewhere, The decision to narrow the injunction in the New York case was by a single appellate judge. A 3-judge panel will likely review the motion for a stay at some point.

The requests to place the DHS rule on hold during the pandemic are separate from the ongoing litigation on the rule. The cases challenging the merits of the DHS rule are continuing. So far, the Second and Seventh Circuit courts have agreed with the District Courts that the rule is likely unlawful, while the Fourth Circuit court has disagreed. Similar cases will be argued in the Ninth Circuit in September.

Another case challenged the Department of State’s (DOS) rules. The District Court in New York issued a preliminary injunction blocking the DOS public charge rules, the 2018 revisions to the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) and the President’s Health Insurance Proclamation. This preliminary injunction is still in effect nationwide.

Please stay tuned for further developments, as the situation evolves. In this time of uncertainty, many of our community facing documents remain applicable, including a document with information on keeping kids enrolled ([link removed]) , and a know your rights document ([link removed]) with key messages. We think this is a good opportunity to clarify that under any version of the rules, most immigrants who will face a public charge test are not eligible for the benefits that would be weighed in that test. The recent USCIS guidance clarifying that testing and treatment for COVID-19 will not be considered in a public charge determination also remains in effect.

Thanks to each of you for the important work you are doing to encourage all families — including immigrant families — to take care of themselves and their health. We are also grateful to the litigation teams for their relentless advocacy and will keep you up to date as we learn more.

Thank you for your continued partnership!

Madison Allen (CLASP) & Eddie Carmona (NILC) on behalf of the Campaign Co-Chairs NILC & CLASP

Visit us at [link removed]

============================================================
Copyright © 2020 Protecting Immigrant Families, Advancing Our Future, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you are either on the Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign listserv, an Active Member of the campaign, a Working Group Member, a Sector Lead, a PIF grantee, or on our Hill-Outreach email list.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences (http://[1]Update Profile)
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]
References

1. [link removed]