Provider Sign On

Sign On Letter

To State Attorneys General —

We, the undersigned, are # frontline workers delivering services across # states. We are nurses, case workers, enrollment assisters, legal service providers, benefits navigators, child care and eldercare workers, food bank administrators, and others who help ensure that families have the safety net support they need to build resilient futures. We work in clinics, schools, county offices, food pantries, legal aid offices, and homes across the country. We are the ones who sit across the table when a family has to decide whether getting help is worth the risk – real or perceived – to their future in our country.

Firstly, we would like to thank the Attorneys General of New York, California, Illinois, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia; and Governor Josh Shapiro, in his official capacity as Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for filing suit this month against the public charge rule.

The final DHS public charge rule and accompanying guidance, taking effect on September 18, are already affecting the health and economic security of the families we serve. These actions create confusion and uncertainty about which programs may be considered and whether benefits used by family members – including U.S. citizen children and lawfully present family members – could affect an individual’s green card application. It’s also making it harder for us to do our jobs. Taking action against this rule can prevent real harm to millions of families, and help ensure that the services and programs that form the bedrock of our social safety net remain strong.

We’re asking every Attorney General who hasn’t yet joined this effort to do the same. Left unchecked, the public charge rule will continue driving eligible families away from programs they rely on to put food on the table, see a doctor, pay rent, and care for their children and elderly and disabled family members, all while raising downstream costs on local and state governments.

We are already seeing these chilling effects firsthand. Families are asking to be withdrawn from programs for which they’re eligible. Parents are declining benefits for their U.S. citizen children out of fear that using them could jeopardize someone else’s chances at lawful permanent residency. We saw this dynamic under the previous public charge policy, when fear caused immigrant families to avoid means-tested programs even when they were not subject to the public charge test.

A sample of what we are seeing on the ground:

[QUOTES from service providers – Note: In the following sign-on form, you will be invited to share examples of how public charge is impacting you and the families you serve, for potential inclusion in this space. This is optional, but encouraged to help us illustrate the breadth of impact this rule will have.]

We must not let history repeat itself. We urge you to act so that families do not have to choose between meeting their basic needs and securing their future in this country.

What we are asking

Pursue legal action, together. We ask offices already litigating to press forward — and we’re glad to make aggregated, anonymized provider accounts available as evidence of the rule’s real-world impact and the confusion it has already caused. We ask Attorneys General who have not yet acted to evaluate potential legal avenues and, where appropriate, join existing litigation, file suit, or otherwise support efforts to prevent or narrow the rule’s harmful effects.
Promote clear state guidance. Work with state and local agencies to ensure residents receive clear, plain-language, translated information about which state- and locally-administered programs are unaffected by the rule, so eligible families do not unnecessarily withdraw from unrelated programs.
Help bring other state attorneys general along. If already pursuing legal action, use your position and experience to encourage other Attorneys General to join or support legal and other coordinated efforts to protect immigrant families.
Use consumer protection authority. Confusion creates an opening for bad actors, including notarios, and paid “protection” schemes targeting people this rule does not affect. Monitor for and act against this consumer exploitation as part of your response.

Once again, we urge you to take timely and decisive action before the public charge rule can inflict any more damage to our social service ecosystem, to our local and state economies, and most importantly, to the countless children who will go without the material support they need to fully thrive. Thank you for your leadership in ensuring that all children and families have access to life’s essentials.

Respectfully,

[X] direct service providers across health care, legal services, anti-poverty, public benefits, education, child care and eldercare, and food security organizations.

List of signatories

Section 1: About Your Work

Which best describes your role?(Required)

What state do you work in?(Required)

What kind of organization do you work for?(Required)

A note for public employees:

Looks like you work for a government agency or school district. Public employees sometimes have extra guardrails around speech — things like the federal Hatch Act or state ethics rules — that can affect how openly you can speak on political or policy issues, even in a personal capacity. Because of that, we’d suggest the anonymous (“role + state only”) option next. And if you’re able, it’s worth a quick look at your agency’s ethics guidance, or a check-in with HR or legal, just to be safe. (This is general info, not legal advice tailored to you.)

Section 2: How would you like to appear publicly?

Select one option(Required)

Option A – Role + state only (recommended default): You’ll appear as your role and state, for example, ‘Case Worker, Ohio”. Your name and employer are never made public under this option.**

Option B – Named, on the record: Your full name may be published and shared with press or Attorneys General offices, with your permission. Choose this only if you are comfortable being publicly identified.**

A quick note before you sign: Signing this letter means putting your name — or your role and state — behind a public position. We do everything we can to protect your identity based on the option you choose, but we can’t promise perfect or permanent anonymity. If you went with “Named, on the record,” your name could show up in media coverage or be shared with policymakers. If you’re at all unsure what this might mean for your specific job, it’s worth a quick check-in with a trusted colleague, your union or professional association, or legal counsel first.

Contact and Verification

This information is used to confirm you’re a real, working provider, and to reach you if we have follow-up questions. What happens to it next depends on the option you chose in Section 2 — see the note on each field below Only designated PIF staff can access this section. Your email, employer, and phone number stay private — we only ever share totals, like how many signers are in a given state. Your name stays private too, unless you chose ‘Named, on the record’ above, in which case it may be published or shared with press, Congress, or Attorneys General, as you chose. Want your info deleted? Just email data@pifcoalition.org.

Name(Required)

If you selected ‘Named, on the record’ in Section 2, this is the name that will appear publicly. If you selected ‘Role + state only,’ your name will not be published

First Last

Email(Required)

Used for verification only. Never listed publicly regardless of which option you chose in Section 2.

Employer/Organization(Required)

Used for verification only. Never listed publicly, regardless of which option you choose in Section 2.

Address(Required)

ZIP / Postal Code

Your Statement (Optional)

Optional: Share a short, real example of what you’re seeing in your work that demands action to stop this public charge rule. We may include this story anonymously in the letter to make the issue more concrete. Your stories may also support our efforts to document the harm of this rule.

Want to share a short example?(Required)

Yes, I’ll share a short example or anecdote

No, just sign me on

What public charge impacts are you seeing in your work?

Please avoid including identifying details about specific clients or patients (names, exact dates, unique case details to protect their privacy as well as your own.)