President Donald Trump’s Administration is rolling out a new rule that experts predict will make it more difficult for immigrants to get green cards if they access public assistance programs, such as Medicaid and food stamps—and could deter those hoping to obtain the status from enrolling in public benefits. The rule, which goes into effect on Friday, updates a policy dating back to the 19th century that the U.S. has long used to prohibit immigrants who are believed to be likely to become a “public charge” from getting green cards. Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has argued that the change “is restoring the basic principle that immigrants must be able to support themselves,” adding that it is “reaffirming the requirement of self-reliance, protecting public resources, and ending policies that encouraged dependency on hard-working American taxpayers.” The rule marks the latest move in Trump’s efforts to sharply restrict both illegal and legal immigration.
The President enacted a similar change during his first Administration, but the effort was subjected to court challenges and ultimately rescinded by his successor, Joe Biden. The new rule has already been challenged in court by a coalition of more than a dozen states, including New York and California. It’s unclear at this point how the ongoing litigation will affect the rollout of the rule.
Here’s what to know about the new rule and how it could affect immigrants. With its new policy, the Trump Administration is implementing a change to what’s known as the “public charge” rule, a policy first established under the Immigration Act of 1882. Since then, one factor that the U.S. government has considered when reviewing green card applications is whether the applicant is likely to become dependent on government assistance.
Historically, officials reviewing these types of applications have only taken into account cash benefit programs—for instance, Supplemental Security Income from Social Security—as “public benefits” that could lead to an immigrant being deemed a “public charge” and having their green card application denied. They have usually not deemed non-cash public benefits, such as Medicaid and food stamps, as programs that would disqualify an immigrant from obtaining permanent resident status. During his first term in the White House, Trump tried to expand the programs that could result in an immigrant being deemed a “public charge,” but a federal judge ruled that the policy had to be vacated, saying it had “numerous unexplained flaws” that made it “arbitrary and capricious.” When former President Joe Biden was in office, he officially rescinded Trump’s rule and stipulated that non-cash benefits would not result in an immigrant being considered a “public charge.” In July, the Trump Administration revealed that it was revoking the Biden-era policy and was rolling out a change similar to the one that faced legal challeges during Trump’s first term.
Under the new rule, officials reviewing green card applications are able to consider a broader scope of public benefit programs. The Trump Administration has noted that the new “public charge” rule does not apply to some immigrants—for instance, refugees. The guidance, though, is vague—it doesn’t include a full list of the benefits that can be taken into consideration, saying only that immigration officers will be “using good judgment and discretion” and will be “making individualized, fact-specific public charge inadmissibility determinations, based on a totality of the alien’s circumstances.” “Now, the officers who are reviewing and adjudicating these cases have much more discretion in how they make that determination—whether they believe the person is likely to become a public charge,” says Melissa Shepard, the legal services director at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
Immigration experts say that the new policy could result in more green card applications being rejected, as well as cause many immigrants to delay seeking permanent resident status. Charles Kuck, an immigration lawyer and former national president of the American immigration Lawyers Association, says that he expects there will be “massive numbers of denials” of green card applications as this new policy is rolled out. He adds that he and his colleagues have heard from some of their clients that they plan to wait until after Trump leaves the White House before filing their green card applications.
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