A judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit on August 12 narrowed to three states (New York, Connecticut, and Vermont) a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from enforcing the Trump administration’s new Public Charge rule during the coronavirus pandemic (see Memo, 8/19/19). Consequently, the DHS public charge regulations cannot be applied in those three states but can be applied throughout the rest of the nation.
The Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign (PIF) announced on July 29 that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued the DHS Public Charge ruling. That order barred the implementation, application, and enforcement of the rule nationwide as long as there is a declared national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The District Court issued a parallel nationwide injunction in a separate case challenging the Department of State’s (DOS’s) own public charge rule as well as the president’s Health Care Proclamation requiring visa applicants to show proof of private health insurance (see Memo, 08/03).
PIF informs its allies, “For now, the DHS public charge regulations cannot be applied in those states but can be applied elsewhere. The decision to narrow the injunction in the New York case was by a single appellate judge. A three-judge panel will likely review the motion for a stay at some point.” While this is a temporary setback in protecting immigrant families nationwide, cases challenging the DHS Public Charge rule are still ongoing. The 2nd and 7th Circuit Courts agreed with District Courts that the rule is unlawful. The 4th Circuit Court has disagreed with the District Court.
The preliminary injunction on the DOS Public Charge rule remains in effect nationwide.
NLIHC will continue to inform readers with updates to this injunction and its long-term implications.
Read the United States Citizenship and Immigration notice of the DHS Public Charge injunction: https://bit.ly/31W4aiB
Read the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York temporary injunction to the DHS Public Charge Rule here: https://bit.ly/2XfEuMl
Read the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York temporary injunction to the DOS Public Charge Rule here: https://bit.ly/3k0OdQk
Read the press releases from litigators on DHS and DOS injunctions: https://bit.ly/31cNlj4
Visit the Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign website for more information and resources on the Public Charge rule: https://bit.ly/3kENXH3