New York Attorney General Letitia James announced yesterday that her office plans to launch a lawsuit against the Trump administration following the rollout of its new “public charge” rule, which would tighten restrictions on immigration to the U.S. by turning government aid into a roadblock.
The policy, which takes effect in October, will mandate that caseworkers determine whether visa and permanent legal resident applicants are a “public charge” to the government because they use aid programs, including Medicaid, food stamps and housing assistance. That means low-income immigrants who are in the U.S. legally will face serious obstacles to remaining in the country if they accept public assistance.
In a statement released yesterday, James called it “yet one more example of his Administration turning its back on people fighting to make a better life for them and their families.” “Under this rule, children will go hungry; families will go without medical care,” she said. “I am committed to defending all of New York’s communities, which is why I intend to sue the Trump Administration over this egregious rule.”
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has also vowed to take action against the policy, arguing that the “vile rule” is the administration’s “latest attack on families and lower income communities of color. According to a White House description of the policy, it is intended to “protect American taxpayers, preserve our social safety net for vulnerable Americans, and uphold the rule of law.”
“This action will help ensure that if aliens want to enter or remain in the United States, they must support themselves and not rely on public benefits,” it reads. In May, a study from the left-leaning Urban Institute, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, found that in 2018, one in seven immigrant families reported forgoing public benefit programs.
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