In a much-needed change, the DHS has proposed repealing the 2022 Biden-era public charge rule, which limited consideration to only cash assistance for green card applicants. This new rule would restore broader officer discretion to factor in the use of non-cash benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid, CHIP, and housing aid, as well as household circumstances in mixed-status families, when assessing self-sufficiency risk.
DHS aims to promote self-reliance, reduce taxpayer costs, and achieve estimated annual savings of $8.97B through lower enrollment, while aligning with 1996 laws and Trump’s 2025 executive order. However, critics, including KFF and advocates, warn of chilling effects that cause immigrants to avoid social programs.
Freaking out about the new development, health policy organization KFF claimed, “Reduced participation in health coverage and other assistance programs would negatively affect the health and financial stability of immigrant families and the growth and healthy development of their children.””
“One in 10 adult immigrants said they had stopped participating in or didn’t apply for a public assistance program in the last 12 months because they didn’t want to draw attention to their or a family member’s immigration status,” the woke policy organization claimed. KFF wrapped up its comments with yet another out-of-touch comment. “Chilling effects are higher—42 percent—in households with likely illegal immigrant members,” the NGO whined, expressing their America-last values.
Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, noted, “Both legal and illegal immigrants ‘make very extensive use of the welfare system as well.”That’s not being caused by people cheating.” “That’s not being caused by people not working—most of them work—but they’re just poor. If you had to put it on a bumper sticker, it would be that there’s a high cost to cheap labor,” Camarota said, fighting back against the woke narrative.
Wrapping up his comments, he noted, “We should be careful about who we let in,” Camarota said. “Once here, it’s going to be very hard to stop people from getting benefits, so the goal should always be keeping out those who are going to need benefits.”
Totally freaking out, Wendy Chun-Hoon, President and Executive Director of the Center for Law and Social Policy, issued a hysterical statement. “This is yet another cruel attempt by the Trump Administration to sow fear and confusion among immigrant communities, deterring them from accessing critical services and supports, like seeking health care and food assistance essential to their well-being and that of their children,” she whined.
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Still not done, she added more political boilerplate, saying, “Providers who serve all communities will be forced yet again to struggle in navigating this ever-changing policy environment, wasting time and resources.” Refusing to accept responsibility, she claimed, “As was the case when the first Trump Administration proposed public charge changes, this new rule will lead to millions of families missing doctor’s appointments, disenrolling from programs they are eligible for, and further isolating themselves. Children in immigrant families, including U.S. citizens, will once again face long-term developmental harms, which our country will ultimately pay the price for.”
Watch Sen. Kennedy celebrate finally shutting down one form of Social Security and welfare fraud here: