House and Senate Immigration Leaders Rebuke Trump DHS Proposal That Would Punish Immigrant Families for Lawfully Accessing Health Care and Food Assistance

 

Proposed “Public Charge” Rule Defies Congress, Threatens Public Health, and Would Make America Sicker and Poorer

Washington, D.C. -- House and Senate immigration leaders submitted a formal regulatory comment to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) opposing the Trump Administration’s proposed “Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility” rule, warning that the proposal unlawfully rewrites longstanding immigration law and would deter immigrant families from accessing basic health, nutrition, and housing assistance they are legally entitled to receive. The proposed rule would circumvent Congress to alter the meaning of “public charge,” a term that for more than 135 years has applied only to individuals who are primarily dependent on the government for subsistence. If an immigrant is determined likely to become a public charge, it can affect their eligibility to enter the U.S. The Trump Administration’s proposal would penalize immigrants for using supplemental benefits like health care, nutrition, or housing assistance that Congress deliberately made available to immigrant populations to support working families. “DHS is seeking to circumvent Congress by administratively altering the 135-year-old meaning of the term ‘public charge’ in violation of congressional intent. […] Congress has deliberately rejected the very changes that DHS now seeks to implement administratively in complete defiance of our will and intent,” the Members wrote. Congress has repeatedly revisited immigration law without ever redefining “public charge” to include the use of non-cash benefits. Federal agencies have long recognized that programs such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and housing assistance are supplemental benefits that promote public health, food security, and housing stability to help working families remain self-sufficient. DHS’s proposal would ignite widespread fear and confusion in immigrant communities, leading families to forgo medical care, nutrition assistance, and housing support even when they qualify under federal law. DHS itself expressly concedes in the proposed rule that the policy could lead to worse health outcomes, increased poverty, housing instability, and greater use of emergency rooms for basic care—harms that would extend well beyond immigrant households to communities nationwide. Congress has consistently made decisions about immigrants’ access to public benefits through eligibility rules, not by barring people from adjusting their immigration status for using those benefits. Recent legislation, including the 2025 reconciliation law, deliberately preserved access to key programs for certain immigrant populations. For these reasons, the Members urge DHS to abandon the rule and maintain the 2022 regulations that reflect congressional intent, protect public health, and ensure that families are not punished for using lawful, life-sustaining assistance. The comment was submitted by Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement; Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce; Sen. Dick Durbin, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Sen. Alex Padilla, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration; Sen. Bernie Sanders; and Sen. Ron Wyden. Click here to read the comment.