UPDATE: SCOTUS Public Charge Ruling Will Put Immigrant Families and Children at Risk (information below from the Center for the Study of Social Policy)

On Tuesday, January 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) allowed the Trump administration to enforce the "public charge" rule, denying certain immigrants to gain permanent resident if they're likely to need government assistance to basic needs like food, shelter, and health care. The SCOTUS 5-4 decision on the public charge rule, previously overturned by lower courts, broadens the definition of public charge to an immigrant who receives one or more public benefits for more than 12 months in the aggregate within any 36-month period. Some of the types of benefits considered in the public charge test include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP), Public Housing, and Section 8 housing assistance under the Housing Choice Voucher Program.

While this anti-immigrant policy does not apply to all immigrants applying for lawful permanent residency (LPR), current green card holders, or naturalized citizens, fear and confusion around the rule can impact immigrant families' decisions to access benefits they need and are eligible to receive.

Learn more about the impact of the public charge rule on immigrant children and families: https://cssp.org/wp-content/up...actonChildren-v3.pdf