Immigrants have many laws and regulations with which they must comply if they want to immigrate to the United States. One of those is the fact that immigrants to the United States must be self-sufficient and not likely to become a public charge. Although the public charge rule has always been in the books, it has not been enforced in the same manner as the newly published Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds.” Now, that the grounds for interpreting who is likely to become a public charge, the news is not only bad for those coming into the country, but also thousands that are already in the country legally and worried about seeking future immigration benefits.
For decades, the public charge rule has stated that immigrants must not rely on public services such as welfare and must be able to support themselves and their families. Now, a public charge is considered anyone that receives one or more public benefits for a period longer than 12 months. It used to be that immigrants could not receive these benefits for longer than 36 months.
The DHS has also redefined the term ‘public benefit’ to mean any benefits for income maintenance. This includes Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), and most forms of Medicaid. Under the new definition, most immigrants would also be ineligible for certain housing programs.
“Things are already so difficult for immigrants in this country,” says Immigration Attorney Natalia Segermeister. “It is difficult to understand why we are making it even harder for them. It is even harder to understand why we are applying these laws to immigrants already in the country, when those definitions did not apply when they may have taken public assistance.”
That is unfortunately true. Immigrants that received benefits over the threshold will now be considered ineligible for a change of status or an extension of stay in the future if they continue to receive those benefits. The only people the law does not apply to are refugees, asylees, Special Immigrant Juveniles, victims of domestic violence or qualifying criminal activity, and certain trafficking victims.
