WASHINGTON — Immigrants’ use of noncash government benefits would not threaten their eligibility for green cards under a proposed change to the so-called public charge rule unveiled Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security.
The proposal, the department’s interpretation of a historic regulation designed to keep out immigrants the government deems likely to rely on public assistance, thus becoming a “public charge,” marks a return to a long-standing interpretation that the Trump administration did away with.
In 2019, the Trump administration rolled out a rule expanding the types of government benefits that could disqualify immigrants from obtaining green cards to include Medicaid, public housing assistance, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and other noncash programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.
