Updated & Translated Materials!

Dear Allies,

We are happy to announce that our Know Your Rights materials have now been translated into French and Tagalog! We hope that these new translations will help you reach your communities with critical information about public charge and how to access benefits and services.

This week, we have some exciting new materials to share from partners, including an updated public charge explainer video from the North Carolina Justice Center and a new fact sheet from Families USA on why lifting the 5 year bar is so critical. Also, be sure to keep reading for more information on an upcoming congressional briefing covering new research from the Urban Institute on barriers to care that immigrants and their families are facing. 

Last year, our partners at the North Carolina Justice Center released videos that explained the 2020 public charge rule. Now, those videos have been updated to reflect the new changes from earlier this year.  We hope these help both you and community members you serve understand the basics of public charge, and help people feel more comfortable accessing the health and nutrition programs they need. Click the photos below for the latest information on public charge in English and Spanish, and share widely with your networks!

As Congress continues to address the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that they take immediate action to address a longstanding, unnecessary gap in health coverage by lifting the five-year bar that blocks lawfully present immigrant families from accessing insurance through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Learn more in Families USA’s new fact sheet, “Protecting the Health of our Nation’s Essential Workers: Congress Must Lift the “Five-Year Bar” on Medicaid and CHIP”.

New research from the Urban Institute reports that low-income immigrant families were hit hard by the economic crisis in 2020, and have experienced significant hardships including not having enough food to feed their families, not seeking needed medical care because of costs, and difficulties paying for housing and utilities. But despite these hardships, 1 out of 4 adults in low-income immigrant families avoided government benefit programs or other assistance because of immigration concerns.

The Protecting Immigrant Families campaign is holding an open congressional briefing on the report’s findings, implications, and proposed solutions on July 13 at 1pm ET. Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear more from other speakers about the barriers to care faced by immigrants and their families -- and what policy change would mean for the health and wellbeing of communities across the country.

• California Health Report – PIF partner Nourish California teams with UCLA public researcher for a commentary urging leaders to spread the word that immigrant families can get the care and help they need with no threat to immigration status.

• NBC News – Public charge a key factor in reversing decades of progress in covering uninsured Latino children, report Georgetown University experts.

• WFXT-TV – Public charge continues to deter SNAP participation among Boston’s immigrant families.

In Solidarity,

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

Visit us at https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/