Biden admin. adopts narrower 'public charge' immigration rule

Sept 8 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Thursday adopted a rule prohibiting immigrants who receive certain government benefits from obtaining permanent U.S. residency, after abandoning a Trump-era regulation that had broadened the bar to people who receive food stamps and Medicaid. The rule issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says immigrants will only be deemed "public charges" who are ineligible for green cards when they are likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, mirroring a 1999 regulation. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report an ad The Trump administration in a 2019 rule had significantly expanded the definition of a public charge to include anyone who receives a government benefit for more than 12 months in any three-year period. That rule, which DHS rescinded in March, had been heavily criticized by immigrant advocates who said it unfairly targeted poor people and would bar hundreds of thousands of immigrants from obtaining permanent residency. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report an ad The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided in 2020 that Trump's policy impermissibly expanded the definition of who counts as a public charge. Other courts around the country made similar rulings, and the Biden administration last year dropped the government's defense of the rule. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in a statement said the new rule, which takes effect December 23, ensures fair and humane treatment of legal immigrants and their family members. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report an ad “Consistent with America's bedrock values, we will not penalize individuals for choosing to access the health benefits and other supplemental government services available to them," Mayorkas said. Jeremy McKinney, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the Trump-era rule had sown fear and confusion in immigrant communities, causing many immigrants to forego health care and vital economic support. “These changes to simplify and de-mystify the rule will truly change lives across our nation," McKinney said in a statement. Under the rule, the determination of whether individuals are likely to become public charges will be based on their age, health, financial resources, education and skills. DHS also will consider immigrants' prior or current receipt of supplemental security income and cash assistance. But DHS said it will not consider an individual's receipt of non-cash benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid, which had been factors under the Trump administration rule. Benefits received by an immigrant's family members also will not be considered under the new rule. About 1.5 million U.S. households with at least one non-citizen member receive food stamps, and about 1 million receive Medicaid benefits, according to Thursday's rule. For more information, visit us at http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/index.html.