On March 9, 2021, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced that the US government consistent with Executive Order 14012 will no longer defend the 2019 Public Charge Final Rule since “doing so is neither in the public interest nor an efficient use of limited government resources.” In a press release, Secretary Mayorkas said: “The 2019 public charge rule was not in keeping with our nation’s values. It penalized those who access health benefits and other government services available to them. He added: “Consistent with the President’s vision, we will continue to implement reforms that improve our legal immigration system.”
Read moreCNN: “Judge blocks administration from implementing 'public charge' rule for immigrants during pandemic”
Last week, on July 29, 2020, Judge George Daniels of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York blocked the government from “enforcing, applying, implementing, or treating as effective,” the “public charge” rule during the COVID-19 pandemic. Separately, the court also blocked the government from implementing or taking any actions to enforce or apply the 2018 FAM Revisions, the DOS Interim Final Rule on Visa Ineligibility on Public Charge Grounds (84 FR 54996, 10/11/19), or the President’s October 4, 2019 Proclamation, “Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden the United States Healthcare System in Order to Protect the Availability of Healthcare Benefits for Americans,” during the COVID-19 pandemic. These injunctions apply nationwide.
Read moreThe New York Times: “Supreme Court Allows Trump’s Wealth Test for Green Cards”
On Monday this week the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision to stay the current nationwide injunction of the “public charge” final rule. With this decision, the administration can implement the “public charge’ final rule for now while the underlying litigation continues, except in Illinois, which has a state-specific injunction. The “public charge” final rule will make it more difficult for immigrants to receive Green Cards if they’ve ever used, or are seen as “likely to use,” public benefits such as food stamps, Section 8 housing vouchers, and Medicaid, among others. The rule arguably redefines the “historic meaning” of the term “public charge,” which will likely result in the denial of applications based on “a bureaucrat’s suspicions that they could use welfare.”
Read moreThe Public Charge Rule: a Q&A
As part of every Green Card (immigrant visa) petition foreign nationals must demonstrate they will be able to support themselves and not become “public charges.” Additionally, every time foreign nationals seek admission to the US, they must demonstrate that will not become “public charges.” A “public charge” is someone the United States believes is primarily dependent on the federal government to subsist. On September 22, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an advance copy of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) related to the public charge ground of inadmissibility.
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