Opposition to "Public Charge" Rule

By Elizabeth Redden. Current regulations dating to 1999 hold that an immigrant can be deemed inadmissible or ineligible for a change in immigration status if they are determined to be "likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence." Whereas the government has previously taken into account the acceptance of cash benefits in determining whether an immigrant is likely to be a "public charge," the proposed rule would consider any use of a wider range of noncash public benefits -- including use of food stamps, nonemergency Medicaid and public housing assistance -- as “heavily weighed negative factors” in making these determinations. More...