Illinois and 21 other states, along with the District of Columbia, filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on Monday against a new Department of Homeland Security rule expanding immigration officers’ discretion to deny green cards, visas, or entry based on possible dependency on public benefits. The rule is scheduled to take effect on Friday following September 14, 2026.
Expanded Public Charge Criteria Under New DHS Rule
The new rule modifies the “public charge” provision of immigration law, which allows denial of permanent residency or visas to applicants deemed likely to become public burdens. Unlike prior rules that focused mainly on cash assistance such as
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, this version does not specify which safety net programs will be considered. This effectively includes non-cash benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps, and housing vouchers.
Moreover, immigration officials can now count benefits applied for by or on behalf of family members, including U.S. citizen children, when determining public charge status, according to Maddie Geschu, director of policy and advocacy at the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition.
Legal Challenge and Projected Financial Impact
The multistate lawsuit aims to block, invalidate, and prevent implementation of the new DHS rule but does not seek monetary damages. The plaintiffs argue that the government exceeded its authority
as Congress never approved such a broad interpretation of public charge and accused DHS of ignoring the rule’s harmful consequences while failing to justify the change adequately.
The lawsuit asserts that the rule will drive many immigrant families, especially mixed-status households, to disenroll from legally eligible public benefits due to fear of immigration consequences. This is expected to lead to an estimated $4.05 billion annual nationwide loss in federal Medicaid and CHIP transfer payments. Of that total, the plaintiff states stand to lose about $2.2 billion.
States filing the lawsuit include California, Illinois, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, New York, and the District of Columbia.
Official Statements on Impact to Immigrant Families
New York State Attorney General Letitia James said, “Hardworking families should not be forced to go without the support they need because they fear asking for assistance will get them deported. This rule preys on that fear and counts on families forfeiting the food assistance, health care coverage, and other public benefits to which they are legally entitled.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated the new rule will “push immigrant families away from the programs that have
kept people fed and healthy for decades. New Yorkers will be afraid to see a doctor or ask for help they are legally entitled to. 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.”
History of the Public Charge Rule and Recent Changes
The public charge provision dates from the Immigration Act of 1882, originally aimed at preventing immigrants who relied on cash assistance from becoming public burdens. For decades, only cash benefits such as Supplemental Security Income were counted in public charge determinations.
In 2020, the first Trump administration expanded the scope to include non-cash benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps, and housing vouchers. The Biden administration reversed this expansion in 2022 by excluding non-cash benefits once again.
The new rule, which rescinds the Biden-era policy, is broader than the initial 2020 Trump-era rule, stating that DHS “will consider the receipt of any means tested public benefits” without specifying which programs qualify.
