A coalition of cities and states sued the Trump administration on Monday to block an impending rule change that would make it easier to deny visas and green cards to immigrants based on their historical or potential use of public benefits.
The new rule, which was announced in July, is scheduled to take effect on Friday, September 18. It is intended to discourage immigrants from using public welfare programs, including food aid and healthcare, and to punish those who do. Among other things, the new rule expands the definition of public aid to include various temporary assistance programs, as well as state and federal assistance for higher education.
The effort to halt the new rule involves two similar but separate lawsuits, one backed by a coalition of cities led by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani that includes Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle. The second suit is backed by a group of states led by New York Attorney General Letitia James that includes 22 states and the District of Columbia.
The lawsuits argue that by changing the “public charge” rule, the Trump administration is violating precedent by expanding the definition of public assistance, as well as the relevant time frame for its use.
Hoping to block: In a statement, Mamdani said the new rule would use fear to slash the assistance programs that have helped keep immigrants healthy and properly nourished. “New Yorkers will be afraid to see a doctor or ask for help they are legally entitled to,” he said. “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.”
At a press conference, Mamdani said the rule could push 4 million people nationwide to unenroll from their healthcare programs. “Nothing about this rule will reduce waste or keep Americans safer or improve New Yorkers’ lives,” he said. “It is simply a vehicle for confusion and a vehicle for cruelty.”
New York City Corporation Counsel Steve Banks emphasized the violation of precedent. “This new rule sweeps away more than a century of settled law to unlawfully broaden the definition of ‘public charge’ in a way that Congress never intended,” he said in a statement.
Appearing at the press conference alongside Mamdani, James underlined the point. “This public charge rule goes back to 1822, where Congress basically said that it only applies to individuals who cannot support themselves, not individuals who apply every now and then for public assistance because they fall on hard times,” she said.