Green card applicants can now be rejected over use of Medicaid, food stamps & free school lunch programmes

Immigrants applying for permanent residency in the United States can now be rejected if they use public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps, tuition assistance or free school lunch programmes.

The Trump administration’s expanded “public charge” rule took effect on Friday. It allows immigration officers to consider whether an applicant’s use of government assistance indicates that they are likely to depend on public support in the future.

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The policy marks a major change to the rules governing legal immigration. It could reduce federal and state payments by $13 billion a year by persuading about 950,000 people to leave or avoid federal safety-net programmes, according to estimates from the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS said the rule reflects Congress’s intention that noncitizens “in the United States be self-sufficient and not dependent on taxpayer-funded government benefits.”

“Aliens in the United States should be self-reliant,” a DHS policy document states, “and government benefits should not incentivize immigration.”

A green card gives an immigrant legal permanent residency and is generally required for those seeking US citizenship.

States sue over new rule

New York and 21 other states, along with the District of Columbia and several cities, sued the Trump administration this week over the policy.

The lawsuit argued that the rule fails “to consider many important aspects” of the problems it creates. It also warned that the effects would extend to mixed-status families and US citizen children.

“Cruelty is the point,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit. “Having a chilling effect on immigrants is the point. Letting individuals know that they are not welcome here is the point.”

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How public benefits will affect applications

The rule gives immigration officers discretion to assess whether an applicant’s use of benefits such as food stamps indicates that they are “likely at any time to become a public charge”.

Critics have warned that the lack of clear guidance could lead to inconsistent decisions. They also say it could discourage immigrant families from using government programmes they are legally eligible to receive.

“The lack of specificity makes it really hard for any family to know what [government-provided benefit] is safe to use,” said Julia Gelatt, an associate director at the Migration Policy Institute.

What has changed

The United States has had a public charge policy since 1882. Immigration officers have long considered an applicant’s health, financial position and skills when assessing whether they may depend on government assistance.

Previously, only direct cash payments, such as disability income, and long-term hospitalisation were generally considered grounds for rejecting a green-card application.

The new rule expands that assessment to include several non-cash benefits.

It applies to immediate family members of US citizens and legal permanent residents, including children, spouses and fiancés of US citizens. Skilled workers, religious workers and other immigrants may also be covered.

Asylum seekers and refugees are not subject to the rule.

The Trump administration introduced a similar policy in 2019, but courts later blocked it. An Urban Institute report found that the earlier rule created fear and confusion among immigrant households and contributed to a sharp decline in enrolment in non-cash federal assistance programmes, including food stamps.