BREAKING NEWS:
Public Charge Executive Order Signed

Dear Allies,

Today, as part of an Executive Order to remove barriers to the legal immigration system, President Biden directed an immediate review of the Trump-era public charge regulations. The announcement came just weeks after 500 nonprofit organizations affiliated with the Protecting Immigrant Families coalition sent a letter urging the President to act quickly in dismantling the wealth test created by the last Administration. While there is much work ahead of us, we want to take the time and celebrate this important first step by the Biden administration with all of you.

Thank you to all of our active members and allies for making this moment possible! Here’s PIF’s statement on the issuance of the Executive Order. We are also pleased with today’s Senate confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas as DHS secretary, making history as the first Latino and first immigrant to serve in this role. 

The Executive Order means that the administrative process of reversing Trump’s public charge regulations has now begun. We anticipate that federal agencies will soon take action leading to reversal of the regulations. We will continue to keep our network informed about any additional developments in the upcoming weeks and months. In the meantime, here’s what we know now:

• What does the Executive Order do? Today’s Executive Order requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of State (DOS), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review the 2019 public charge rules, evaluate the current effects of the rules, and take action to address the policies’ affect on our immigration system and public health within 60 days. The Executive Order also directs agencies to take steps to clearly communicate public charge policy to reduce the chilling effect and to consult with the Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The Executive Order does not directly rescind or replace the DHS or DOS public charge rules, but instead holds DHS, DOS, and DOJ accountable to review the policy and identify and take appropriate actions within 60 days.  

• What are we hoping to see next? We hope DHS will immediately issue FAQs providing clear and accurate information to ensure that immigrants and their families who are not affected by the current public charge policy feel safe accessing health care or other public benefits. PIF will urge DHS to immediately begin rulemaking, given the urgent need for change and the time-consuming nature of regulatory development. 

• What is the work we still have to do? PIF partners can contribute to the process by supporting administrative advocacy efforts that push the agencies for full reversal of their public charge regulations within the coming weeks. We want to highlight our concerns about the public charge rule and expectations about a new rule for DHS and DOS before the rule is finalized. We also anticipate asking all of you to comment on rulemaking, so that DHS and DOS can review comments and finalize an even better policy in the future.

Keep reading below for updated family-facing messages, sample tweets and graphics for our scheduled tweetstorm tomorrow, and new research.

We know our partners have been hearing from families with questions about how the election of Joe Biden will change public charge, when that change will happen, and what it means for the safe use of public programs including those that may be associated with COVID-19 testing and care. Understanding that the political and policymaking context will change rapidly over the next few months, the PIF team has updated family-facing messages that are intended to help partners provide honest, productive responses to concerned families. Please note that we will update these messages when there is further action on the public charge regulations.

In response to the Executive Order on public charge, the PIF team is hosting a tweetstorm tomorrow, Wednesday, 2/3 from 12-1PM ET / 9-10AM PT using PIF’s #ProtectFamilies hashtag. To make it easier for partners to participate, we’ve prepared new graphics and a set of sample tweets, which also includes a list of priority lawmakers partners can tag, in addition to their own congressional delegation. Please join us for the tweetstorm, and please continue to share your support and thanks on social media.

This week, the Urban Institute released new research on the continued chilling effects experienced by immigrant families in 2020. Researchers found that approximately one in seven adults in immigrant families reported that they or a family member avoided noncash public benefits because of concerns with future green card applications. These findings illustrate just how important it is to reverse the Trump-era public charge regulations, especially in light of the current public health and economic crisis.

In Solidarity,

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

Visit us at https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/