The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that it will stop defending the Trump administration’s public charge rule on immigrants.
Before Pres. Donald Trump took office, the federal government has a long-standing policy ensuring that immigrants seeking to enter the United States must be self-sufficient and will not need federal cash assistance or long-term hospitalizations.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) states that immigrants who are likely to become public charge are inadmissible.
Multiple cities and states opposed Trump’s expanded public charge rule
In 2018, the Trump administration proposed changing the definition and expanding the public charge rule on immigrants. A coalition of multiple cities and states opposed the proposal, which was considered an attack on legal immigrants.
The following year, it published the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule that aims to deny visas and green cards or legal permanent residency to immigrants who will likely use or received non-cash public benefits such as Medicaid, federal housing, and food stamps.
