ALERT: Rule Making Green Card Harder to Obtain Takes Effect Today

A new immigration rule from the Trump administration takes effect this Friday, September 18, 2026 nationwide. According to CNN reporting, the rule will make it harder for many legal immigrants to obtain permanent residency if they receive or are considered likely to need public assistance. The measure is advancing even as several federal lawsuits seek to block it.

What Changes With the New «Public Charge» Rule?

Immigration officials have spent decades reviewing whether green card applicants can support themselves economically. This is called the «public charge» evaluation. It is one of the country’s oldest grounds for immigration inadmissibility.

The Immigration Act of 1882 already allowed denying entry to those likely to depend on government assistance. In 1999, the Clinton administration narrowed that definition. It only considered direct economic aid, such as cash assistance or Medicaid for long-term care.

Trump’s first administration expanded that definition in 2019 to include non-monetary benefits, such as food stamps and housing subsidies, and implemented it in 2020. A federal court struck it down shortly after. The Biden administration repealed it in 2022 and limited the review to cash aid only.

Economic Self-Sufficiency: The Official Justification

The rule in effect as of today revives and expands the 2019 criteria. It repeals Biden’s rule and allows officials to consider a broader range of public assistance programs when evaluating each application.

The Department of Homeland Security, known as DHS, defended the measure at the time. On its official X account, the agency stated it seeks to ensure immigrants can support themselves and not depend on public funds, according to the record cited by CNN.

The text does not detail which specific programs will be evaluated, beyond indicating that any public benefit subject to means testing will be considered. This could include food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers, Head Start, and certain tax credits like the child tax credit, according to Maddie Geschu of the Coalition for the Protection of Immigrant Families, who explained this to CNN in July.

The «Chilling Effect» Worries Immigration Advocates

The rule also allows evaluation of benefits received by other family members, including children who are U.S. citizens. This expands the universe of people indirectly affected by each application.

DHS estimates that an average of 588,000 applicants are subject to public charge reviews annually. But the actual impact could be larger. The agency estimates that approximately 950,000 people could abandon or avoid enrolling in six public programs, including Medicaid, food stamps, the children’s health insurance program CHIP, and federal rental assistance.

Undocumented immigrants are not subject to this evaluation because they do not qualify for public assistance. The risk falls mainly on families with mixed immigration status, where legal residents, applicants, and citizens live together.

A Voice Putting a Human Face on Policy

Clarissa Hayes of the Food Research & Action Center described the dilemma many families face. «No parent should have to choose between feeding their children and keeping their family together,» she told journalists, according to CNN reporting. Her organization fears that fear will drive eligible children away from programs like WIC and school meals.

Geschu went further on the approval process. She warned that the rule «opens the door to abuses… based on partisan politics or personal prejudices,» she told CNN.

Previous studies support that concern. According to immigration advocates, participation in public programs among immigrant families dropped in 2019 and 2020, even among those not subject to the previous rule.

The Legal Framework and Ongoing Lawsuits

The rule is based on the federal government’s historical authority to define grounds for immigration inadmissibility. However, its scope is currently being disputed in federal courts, keeping open the possibility that it could be blocked before being widely applied.

New York is leading a coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia that sued the Trump administration to block the rule. You can read more about this lawsuit in CNN en Español’s report.

A group of cities, led by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, filed a similar lawsuit. The states argue the rule gives immigration officials excessive discretion. A federal judge scheduled an initial hearing for October 9.

The Economic Cost Is Also Disputed

A study from George Washington University, cited by CNN, estimates that 3.7 million people in immigrant households could lose Medicaid, food stamps, or other aid. State economies could lose $27.4 billion and up to 212,000 jobs.

You can learn about the origins of this rule in CNN en Español’s report on its reactivation in July.

What Can Immigrant Families Do Now?

The rule takes effect today, unless a