Public Charge Rule Vacated!

A federal court in Illinois has vacated the public charge rule! This rule made prior use of SNAP, Medicaid (with some exceptions for children, pregnant, and post-partum women), and housing assistance programs a negative factor against an application for a green card. Even though there are already restrictions that limit use of these programs to US citizens or people who have had their green cards for 5 years or more, the rule has caused much confusion and fear, resulting in widespread chilling effect on the lawful use of these and other essential needs programs. The court found that federal rule making procedures were not followed and so the rule must be set aside nationwide.

This decision could still be appealed up to the Supreme Court which recently ended a nationwide injunction on this rule, but for now, we welcome this news, especially during the pandemic where the need for essential needs services has skyrocketed, disproportionately impacting Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color. No one should be afraid to ask for help with food or other essential needs.

We thank you for joining us and over 200,000 other individuals who submitted public comments opposing this rule. Writing a public comment is one way that we can influence government, but let’s not ignore the most basic tool we have on hand–your vote! See our Take Action for last minute voting reminders if you have not yet voted and be sure to share them with your friends and family to make sure they have voted as well!

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