The “public charge rule” that the administration introduced in 2019, only to have it challenged in the courts, is now being enforced by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services after a federal court lifted an injunction on its implementation.
The rule authorizes USCIS to deny a green card to any immigrant who receives certain public benefits – such as food stamps, public housing vouchers, welfare, or Medicaid – for more than 12 months within any three-year period. The expressed purpose of the rule is to deny green cards to individuals who may become dependent on publicly funded services – a so-called “public charge.”
Health care providers have expressed concern that some people who are not subject to public charge review will mistakenly believe they are, avoid enrolling in Medicaid if they qualify – or even withdraw from the program – and turn instead to providers in search of free care when they are sick or injured.
Learn more about the USCIS’s intentions for implementing the public charge rule here and learn more about the latest developments on this issue in the article “Trump administration reimposes ‘public charge’ rule following court victory” in the online publication The Hill.