NLIHC is urging national, state, and local organizations to sign on to a letter by Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) in support of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to finalize the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “public charge” rule. The letter urges the Biden administration to act quickly to finalize responsible reforms that protect immigrant families’ access to safety net programs, including public housing and Housing Choice Vouchers. NLIHC also encourages states and localities to submit public comments that cite data indicating the harm caused by the 2019 final rule to their constituents. Individuals can sign a separate petition – available in nine languages – in support of the proposed rule. The deadline to sign the letter or the petition is April 21. The deadline for individuals or local governments to submit comments to the Federal Register is April 25.
In March 2021, the Biden administration dismissed the harmful 2019 public charge regulation, which included public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, and Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) in the determination of whether a lawfully-present immigrant was or might become a public charge to the government (see Memo 03/15/2021). The public charge regulation has been part of federal immigration law for more than one hundred years, but the 2019 rule had a chilling effect on immigrant communities and continues to cause fear and confusion for immigrant families and those who serve immigrant families. The newly proposed rule clarifies that programs such as Section 8 vouchers, disaster assistance, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), employment assistance, childcare, and programs for trafficking victims do not count as benefits considered under the public charge determination. The proposed rule is an important step in mitigating the damage of the 2019 policy and would make permanent needed improvements to the public charge rule.
The sign-on effort is being led by the Protecting Immigrant Families campaign. Further information about the effort can be found on the website of Keep Families Together, a shared initiative of the National Housing Law Project. The sign-on letter recognizes that the public charge test is “an antiquated policy reflecting centuries of racial and class bias” and urges the Biden administration to quickly finalize public charge reform to assure eligible immigrant families that they can use safety net programs without immigration concerns. The letter urges DHS to make specific improvements as well, including (1) ensuring that state and local programs such as universal basic income programs are not considered in public charge determinations; (2) clarifying that Medicaid is never considered in public charge determinations; and (3) exempting orphans, domestic violence survivors, victims of other crimes, and other vulnerable immigrants from public charge determinations.
Read the organizational sign-on letter at: https://bit.ly/37wcc8k
Explore a toolkit with tips and sample language for state and local agencies preparing to submit comments at: https://bit.ly/3DSabPN
Read the public petition at: https://bit.ly/3JhnZ7t
Read more about public charge on page 6-57 of NLIHC’s Advocates’ Guide 2022.