Green card at risk: Trump reactivates public charge rule

The Donald Trump Administration reactivated the “public charge” rule, a policy that could jeopardize the green card of thousands of immigrants who use certain public benefits in the United States. The regulation appeared this Thursday in the Federal Register and will be formally published on July 20, taking effect on September 18. With this measure, the government seeks to more strictly re-evaluate whether a permanent residency applicant can be considered a “public charge” to the country.

According to this policy, those seeking permanent residency must demonstrate that they will not be a burden to the country nor constitute a “public charge.” In practice, this means that the use of programs such as food stamps (SNAP), Medicaid, housing vouchers, and other benefits could weigh against their immigration case. The rule was already applied in February 2020 during Trump’s first term and was later invalidated by the Biden Administration, but it is now being revived in a context of a hardline stance against legal and illegal immigration.

The Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stated on its X account that the federal government “is reaffirming the requirement of self-sufficiency, protecting public resources, and ending policies that encouraged dependency at the expense of hardworking American taxpayers.” In the same post, USCIS noted that, “under President Trump’s administration, USCIS is restoring the basic principle that immigrants must be able to support themselves.” This vision reinforces a historical line in immigration law, but with broader and stricter criteria than before.

What exactly is the “public charge” rule?

In U.S. immigration law, “public charge” is a ground of inadmissibility. In simple terms, an immigrant is considered a public charge if they are likely to depend primarily on certain public benefits for their subsistence. Federal law already required those seeking permanent residency or certain legal statuses to demonstrate that they will not become a public charge. However, the version pushed by Trump expands the number and types of programs that can disqualify an applicant.

The 2019 DHS regulation defined “public charge” as a person who receives one or more designated public benefits for more than 12 months in any 36-month period. Those benefits include cash for income maintenance (SSI, TANF), food stamps (SNAP), most forms of Medicaid, and certain housing programs. Although this technical definition remains as a reference, the new proposed rule and now reactivated seeks to expand the scope even further, including state and local benefits.

Not all immigrants are subject to this analysis. Humanitarian programs such as refugee status, asylum, T and U visas, special immigrant minors, and victims of domestic violence have been traditionally excluded from the rule. However, many green card applicants through family or employment-based routes can be affected, especially in mixed-status families that combine citizen and non-citizen members.

What benefits can jeopardize your green card?