Memo to Members

NLIHC Joins PIF Comment Letter Opposing Public Charge Rule, Urges Organizations to Join Comment Letter by Thursday, December 18

Dec 15, 2025

By Kayla Blackwell, NLIHC Senior Housing Policy Analyst  

NLIHC joined a comment letter drafted by the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition (PIF) urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw the proposed “public charge” rule. The rule, published to the Federal Register on November 19 with a 30-day comment period ending on December 19, would significantly restrict access to essential resources for millions of low-income immigrants and their children during a time when our nation is already navigating increased housing, healthcare, and food insecurity. Until the DHS rule is finalized, the Biden administration’s 2022 public charge rule remains in effect, and housing is not considered in a public charge assessment, which is considered in an individual’s application for a visa or Lawful Permanent Residency (“green card”). NLIHC urges housing advocates to join PIF’s organizational sign on comment letter by Thursday, December 18 at 5:00 pm ET.   

Advocates are also encouraged to comment on the rule by the comment deadline of December 19 at 11:59 pm ET, using PIF’s comment template for direct service providers who serve immigrant families or a more detailed comment template for organizations.  

Background 

The “public charge” inadmissibility test has been used to determine admission into the U.S. or approval for a green card for over 140 years. An individual is deemed a “public charge” if they are identified as likely to depend on government benefits as their main source of support—and subsequently denied entry or green card status if so. Under the current public charge rule, implemented during the Biden administration in 2022, only “public cash assistance for income maintenance” and long-term institutionalization paid for by the government are considered in the public charge assessment. Healthcare, food, and housing assistance are not considered in the public charge assessment. 

In 2019, the first Trump administration attempted to include these benefits in the public charge test through a proposed public charge rule, receiving remarkable pushback from advocates outlining its harms before its ultimate reversal (see Memo, 8/19/19). Now, the second Trump administration’s proposed public charge rule aims to consider “all factors and information relevant to an alien’s likelihood at any time of becoming a public charge.” The rule allows critical services to be considered—without specifying the programs under consideration—and removes the 2022 regulatory provisions. If finalized, this rule would harm immigrant families’ access to key services by creating a culture of inaccessibility and fear.  

PIF’s public charge comment letter, open to organizational sign-ons, makes four overarching arguments: 

  1. Unknown rules lead to chaos and bias;
  2. The proposed policy threatens the nation’s health and economic security;
  3. The proposed public charge policy is a backdoor assault on lawful immigration, and;
  4. The public interest demands abandonment of this proposal. 

Take action—Comment on the DHS Public Charge Rule 

  • Join PIF’s sign on comment letter by Thursday, December 18 at 5:00 pm ET! 
    • PIF is coordinating a coalition-wide organizational sign-on comment opposing the 2025 DHS Public Charge NPRM and invites organizations to join this effort and stand with immigrant families across the country. Any nonprofit, community-based organization, advocacy group, service provider, faith-based institution, research or policy organization, or allied partner that supports immigrant families and shares our commitment to promoting health, well-being, and economic security is welcome to join the letter. 
  • Are you a direct service provider who serves immigrant families? Use PIF’s direct service provider comment template to draft your own comment by Friday, December 19 at midnight ET. 
    • Stories from direct service providers or application assisters about the chilling effect of the proposed changes to public charge, the negative consequences of loss of benefits, and the ways that clients and agencies have relied on previous regulations are all potentially helpful for future challenges to a harmful rule. In the current context, many immigrants who will be directly harmed by the proposed rule may be afraid to submit their own comments. By lifting up what you have seen, you can help tell their stories.
  • Are you part of a housing or homeless services organization that’s concerned for your immigrant neighbors? Use PIF’s organizational comment template to draft your organization's comment by December 19 at 11:59 pm ET.
    • Comments are critical to the rulemaking process, and the administration is required to consider all feedback from the public. Your organization may have specific expertise in the impact of the proposed rule on immigrants in your community, and your voice needs to be heard. The comment template offers recommendations for subject matter experts like local housing providers, homeless coalitions, immigrant rights organizations, and state or local governments to submit a robust comment.  

Read the new proposed public charge rule here. 

Read PIF’s public charge toolkit and calls to action here.