CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today co-led a coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia in suing to halt the Trump administration's new public charge rule, which would allow immigration officials to punish immigrants for lawfully using public benefits. The new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy would give immigration officers broad discretion to deny green cards based on the use of public benefits.
Attorney General Raoul and the coalition are asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to declare this rule unlawful.
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“DHS’ new rule is the Trump administration’s latest attempt to target immigrants and their families, this time by punishing them for lawfully using public benefits they are entitled to,” Raoul said. “I will continue to join with fellow attorneys general in holding the administration accountable when they exceed their power and violate federal laws.”
A “public charge” means a person who is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for long-term subsistence. In 2022, the federal government issued a rule limiting public charge determinations to cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization at government expense. The Trump administration’s new rule, taking effect Sept. 18, would let immigration officers count nearly any means-tested public benefit, used for any length of time, against an applicant. The rule also allows immigration officers to consider some benefits legally used by family members whom the applicant is legally obligated to support, even if the family member is a U.S. citizen. There is no clear limit on which benefits, or how much use, count against an applicant, leaving families to guess which forms of assistance might put their immigration status at risk.
Attorney General Raoul and the coalition assert that the administration has acknowledged that the fear and confusion the new rule would cause immigrant families to disenroll from benefits to which they are legally entitled. DHS estimates that disenrollment or forgone enrollment resulting from the new rule could reduce federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) transfer payments to the states by approximately $4.05 billion annually and federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) transfer payments by approximately $1.02 billion annually.
Raoul and the coalition’s lawsuit argues that the disruption will not stop with the families who disenroll from public benefits. When people lose access to health coverage, they delay care and turn to emergency rooms instead, straining safety-net hospitals and community health centers, and increasing costs for everyone. Schools risk losing automatic certification for free and reduced-price meal programs when SNAP and Medicaid enrollment drops below required thresholds, cutting off meals for eligible students regardless of income or immigration status. Federal Title I education funding is also likely to fall if student enrollment in benefits decreases, resulting in a devastating loss for schools. Reduced participation in SNAP can also harm local economies, draining money from grocery stores and local businesses that depend on SNAP recipients’ business.
Raoul and the coalition note that states and local governments that administer these programs will bear direct costs, from new communications to staff training to information technology changes needed to manage the disruption. This is on top of the added strain of residents cycling on and off programs out of fear.
Attorney General Raoul and the coalition argue that the new rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it is arbitrary and capricious, exceeds DHS’ statutory authority and departs from the longstanding meaning of the public charge provision established by Congress.
Joining Attorney General Raoul in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and the governor of Pennsylvania.
