A coalition of 22 states and cities, including New York and Washington, D.C., is suing the Trump Administration in an effort to fight a new Department of Homeland Security rule that would broaden immigration officials’ authority to deny green cards, visas, or entry to the United States– all based on whether a person will likely need government assistance.
“Hardworking families should not be forced to go without the support they need because they fear asking for assistance will get them deported,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the state suit, said in a statement.
The states’ lawsuits were announced at a press conference on Monday and also include California, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. The cities’ lawsuits are being led by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was also present at the press conference to represent the cities and counties that filed, including Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.
The state’s suit argues that the Department of Homeland Security is exceeding its powers because Congress did not approve the interpretation of “public charge.”
The change to “public charge” interpretation, under U.S. Immigration law, gives immigration officers the ability to deny green cards, visas, or entry at their own discretion with no specification as to which government assistance programs would contribute to a denial.
“This rule preys on that fear and counts on families forfeiting the food assistance, health care coverage, and other public benefits to which they are legally entitled,” James said in a statement. “My office fought this exact policy once before and won, and we are leading the nation to ensure the Trump administration cannot inflict this harm on families again.”
According to Mamdani, the change to the ‘public charge,’ which he called a “vehicle for confusion and cruelty,” rule could push up to 4 million people across the country to unenroll from government assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, out of fears that they will lose legal status to live in the U.S.
“The new ‘public charge’ rule seeks to push immigrant families away from the programs that have kept people fed and healthy for decades,” Mamdani said in a statement. “New Yorkers will be afraid to see a doctor or ask for help they are legally entitled to. That fear will not stop at the families that the federal government is targeting. Families who remain fully eligible for benefits will feel a chilling effect, and all New Yorkers will pay for it.”
The pending change was announced in late July and reinstated the “public charge” rule from Trump’s first presidential term.
The rule’s vagueness could disproportionately impact Black, Asian, and Latino immigrants.
According to an Emancipator analysis of Office of Homeland Security Statistics from 2023, roughly 93% of people who received green cards that year were born outside of Europe, including Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Broad discretion in implementation could further deepen racial inequities in determining who is legally allowed to stay in the U.S.
The change to the “public charge” rule is currently slated to take effect on Friday.
