Our National Keep Your Benefits Website is Here!

Dear Allies,

This week, we are proud to announce the launch of the national Keep Your Benefits website! This site has already proved to be an invaluable screening tool in California, and we are excited to take it nationwide. As the pandemic continues to rage on, we hope that this website will help give confidence to those seeking life-saving benefits and healthcare by providing a simple guide to understanding the public charge regulations. Continue reading to learn more about the national online screening tool, a new data dashboard from our partners at UnidosUS, and news on a good decision out of the 9th Circuit from last week.

On December 2, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision that upheld the preliminary injunctions against the Public Charge Rule previously issued by federal courts in California and Washington. The Ninth Circuit agreed with those courts that the Rule violates the public charge statute. The court also agreed that the Department of Homeland Security had not adequately responded to various issues, evidence and concerns raised during the public comment period. If the decision stands, the injunctions would be reinstated as to the States involved in the cases. But, as yet, the injunctions are not yet back in effect.

We are excited to announce the launch of the national Keep Your Benefits website! The website, including its simple guide, helps immigrants and those who assist them to understand: (1) which immigrants face a public charge test and (2) which benefits are included in the public charge test. You can also find an explanation of the public charge rule, a page dedicated to helping individuals find immigration assistance and legal aid resources in their area, and additional resources - including an FAQ. The national site lists the federal names of the benefit programs, and has a separate page with CA-specific information. The website is also available in Spanish and Chinese. Once available, we will circulate social and press content to help partners disseminate and amplify the tool with their networks.

We also want to thank our partners who helped to make this launch possible: Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, Immigration Advocates Network, Probono.net, PIF-CA, CLASP, NILC. Thank you also to California Health Care Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for providing funding for the site.

Latino workers and families have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic across nearly every aspect of their lives, which will have repercussions for years to come. To better understand the pandemic’s impact on Latino communities, our partners at UnidosUS present “By the Numbers: Latinos in the Time of Coronavirus,” an interactive, user-friendly dashboard that provides the latest data on the effects of COVID-19 across a range of issues. You can find more information and instructions on how to use the tool at the link above.

• Washington Post – Great editorial urges Biden to adopt “a single-minded focus on overhauling immigration policy” including reversing public charge and arguing that he has “a mandate to return this country to a posture that is welcoming, not hostile, to those who would contribute to its vibrancy.”

• CNN – On how an Oxnard, California-based Spanish language radio station is debunking COVID-19 misinformation, including concerns about public charge.

• NPR – Hartford, Connecticut, mom who’s a Peruvian refugee organized a food pantry to help area immigrant families ineligible for federal pandemic relief.

In Solidarity,

Eddie Carmona & Renato Rocha, on behalf of the PIF Team

Visit us at https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/