On Friday, the federal government will take a harder line on green card applicants based on public benefits they have received or are receiving.
The Trump administration will allow officers with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services more discretion during their assessments of green card applications. The administration says immigrants who have used public benefits like SNAP and Medicaid will have a more difficult time getting permanent residence.
“We’ve already been hearing sort of anecdotally about people who are pulling out of programs they are eligible for, or that their family members are eligible for,” said Sarang Sekhavat, chief of staff at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. “People are really worried about what this could mean for their future.”
Advocates and attorneys say that it is mostly immigrants who are in the U.S. legally on a family-based petitions because their family member is a permanent resident or citizen, and are applying for green cards who will be impacted. There are exemptions for asylees, refugees, victims of human trafficking, and others.
“The main thing for this regulation is to essentially give officers unbridled discretion to take into consideration pretty much any factor that they decide is relevant in determining public charge,” said Jeannie Kane, a local immigration attorney who works with green card applicants.
Until now, she said, officers have relied heavily on an affidavit of support signed by the person petitioning for the immigrant to get permanent residence, like a close family member. That family member would show they’re working and have sufficient income, to show the applicant could be supported. Under the new regulation, the government will additionally consider past and current use of public benefits and the use of public benefits of other people living in the household, including U.S. citizens.
“When you really take a deep dive into who’s affected, we’re really looking at mixed-status immigrant households,” said Tania Martinez, chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association New England Chapter. She said attorneys have started to hear clients preemptively ask about how they will be impacted if they were part of the Women Infants & Children Nutrition, or WIC, program in the past.
“They say like, 'I had WIC for my child. I had to give them food. I had to give them milk. Does that mean now I can’t provide for my child? Does that mean now if they need healthcare that I can’t necessarily take a state benefit so that my child can be seen and get the care that they need?’”
The potential impact of past and current public benefits is causing some immigrants to reconsider filing for a green card application at all, according to several attorneys and Sekhavat.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell joined other attorneys general to sue the federal government in the southern district of New York over the public charge changes.
“Access to basic necessities like food, healthcare, and housing should never be used as a weapon against immigrants. And immigrants should never be forced to choose between getting the help they need while seeking permanent status in this country,” she said. Campbell said the new rule threats punish immigrants for lawful accessing public benefits.
“The Trump administration is upholding the rule of law and protecting American taxpayers from subsidizing aliens who may become dependent on public benefits. USCIS is committed to safeguarding the safety, security, and financial well-being of Americans,” said USCIS Spokesman Zach Kahler in a statement.
He said USCIS officers are “empowered to assess all pertinent facts on a case-by-case basis,” and that decision isn’t made on a “single factor or an officer’s personal opinion.”
USCIS officers will consider the five statutory factors in assessing if someone will become a public charge; the individual’s receipt of “means-tested public benefits,” such as cash assistance for income maintenance, housing assistance, food stamps, financial aid for college, or any other similar benefit, according to the agency.
Additionally, if a USCIS officer believes that a person applying for a green card from outside of the U.S. could be a public charge, they will asks the person to post a “public charge bond.”
The agency says this is a “financial guarantee, where individuals or companies pay a cash bond or post a surety bond with USCIS as an assurance that the alien will not become a public charge.”
It is unclear what amount the charge will be.
Separately, immigrants applying for visas abroad will be more heavily scrutinized as to whether they might use public benefits in the U.S. if they were to be admitted.
Attorneys representing immigrants abroad are waiting to see whether the State Department, which handles immigrant visa applications coming from the U.S. consulates, will issue regulations on how it will handle the changes. It’s expected the department will follow suit but the department didn’t return request for comment.
The Trump administration initially announced proposed changes last November.
