Public Charge Update,
Comments on HHS and USDA Rules,
& New Research
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PUBLIC CHARGE UPDATE FROM THE CO-CHAIRS
Thanks to many PIF partners who have been doing EO 12866 meetings this week, urging the Office of Management and Budget not to finalize DHS’s public charge rule. We do not know when DHS’s public charge will be finalized and published, but we are monitoring it closely. Keep in mind, rule finalization is not the last step here. Litigation teams are preparing to fight this rule in court with the hope of blocking it before it takes effect. And, we are ready to support you with rapid response, which will include email updates, a field and principals call, updated materials, and more to support you in the first few days of finalization.
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17 ATTORNEYS GENERAL REQUEST
OMB MEETING ON DHS NPRM
States are continuing to fight against the DHS public charge proposal! Attorneys General (AGs) from Washington, California, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, the Commonwealths of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia requested a meeting with the Office of Management and Budget to discuss the DHS public charge regulation. According to the AGs’ letter, the DHS's estimates of the proposed rule's economic effects "totally failed" to capture the reality of the situation. The letter says that if the rule is finalized, their total economic output will decline, workers’ wages will decrease, and the country will see a significant number of jobs lost.
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TAKE ACTION: COMMENT TO OPPOSE
HEALTH CARE DISCRIMINATION
The Trump Administration recently published a proposed regulation that would roll back the Health Care Rights Law (section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act). The rule would weaken protections from discrimination on the basis of national origin, including discrimination due to people’s inability to speak English, along with protections for LGBT people and others. Comments are due by August 13. This week (July 29 to Aug 2) is the Language Access and Immigrant Week of Action on the rule. Here are a few helpful resources from Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Care Forum, the National Health Law Program, and others:
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TAKE ACTION: PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD BEGINS
FOR PROPOSED RULE THREATENING SNAP
On July 24, the Trump Administration issued its latest attack on low-income families, targeting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The proposed rule would take food assistance away from 3 million people by making them ineligible to participate in SNAP, the nation’s first line of defense against hunger.
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) has developed a platform where you can submit your comments to the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service opposing this proposed rule. The 60-day public comment period ends on September 23. Let the administration know that the proposed rule would increase hunger and poverty in this country, especially for working families with children whose net incomes are below the poverty line, and families and seniors with even a small amount of savings who would be kicked off of SNAP. Weakening SNAP only weakens our country. |
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NEW URBAN INSTITUTE RESEARCH
In May, the Urban Institute found that adults in immigrant families were already being chilled from public benefits in 2018. This week, the Urban Institute published a new brief that looks beyond public benefits, examining how immigrant families may be changing their daily lives. The Urban Institute found that in 2018:
About one in six adults in immigrant families (17.0 percent) reported they or a family member avoided routine activities during which they could be asked or bothered about citizenship status.
- The most commonly avoided activities were those that involved interactions with the police and public authorities: driving a car (9.9 percent); applying for a driver’s license (9.0 percent); and talking to police or reporting a crime (8.3 percent).
- About one in three adults (32.9 percent) in families with a more vulnerable citizenship status (at least one foreign-born member isn’t a permanent resident or naturalized citizen) reported they or a family member avoided at least one routine activity.
- Yet, even among families in which all members are permanent residents or naturalized citizens, 11.7 percent of adults reported they or a family member avoided at least one routine activity.
- Hispanic adults were three times more likely (24.2 percent) than non-Hispanic white adults (8.5 percent) to report avoiding at least one routine activity.
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UPCOMING WITS WEBINAR: In the Halls of Justice: Facilitating Safe Spaces in Courthouses
Friday, August 2 at 11am PT/12pm MT/1pm CT/2pm ET.
Immigrant and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE’s) policy prevents agents from acting in areas designated as “sensitive locations”: schools, medical centers, places of worship, etc. However, in January 2018, a directive reinforced ICE's intention to continue conducting courthouse arrests, leaving immigrants vulnerable to being detained when presenting themselves for court appearances, participating in cases as witnesses, or simply accompanying family members to court settings. The resulting mix of confusion, mistrust, and fear has led immigrants to avoid the justice system all together.
Join the Winning in the States campaign for a constructive conversation about the history of this issue as well as tools, policies, and approaches that can be employed to mitigate the effects of courthouses' lack of designation as sensitive locations.
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Thank you for your continued partnership!
Elizabeth Lower-Basch (Center for Law and Social Policy), and
Sonya Schwartz (National Immigration Law Center), on behalf of the Co-chairs of the Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign
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