WASHINGTON — Advocates for food security and immigrant families briefed reporters Tuesday on the hunger consequences of a new U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulations taking effect September 18. The Trump administration’s “public charge” regulation puts “green card” applications at risk if lawfully present immigrants use health or social service programs, or if their U.S. citizen children use such programs.
“This regulation is a direct assault on immigrant families, and a threat to the health of millions of U.S. citizen children,” said Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition policy and advocacy director Maddie Geschu.
The Trump administration’s policy rescinds regulations adopted in 2022 that limited the type of benefits considered in a public charge test to cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization at government expense. By removing those guardrails, it opens the process to political influence and personal bias.
A related Trump public charge regulation implemented in February 2020 was ruled illegal by a federal court and struck down in March 2021. While that regulation’s technical application was limited to a small number of lawfully present immigrants applying for green cards, the deterrent “chilling effect” was much broader. A 2021 survey found that about half (46%) of people in immigrant families who needed care or help during the pandemic did not apply because of immigration concerns.
“No parent should ever have to choose between feeding their children and keeping their family together,” said Clarissa Hayes, deputy director of Child Nutrition Programs & Policy at the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). “By including child nutrition, WIC, and school meals in public charge guidance and policy, the administration is deliberately creating confusion. We saw what happened in 2019. When policy creates uncertainty, it leads families to not applying or disenrolling from critical nutrition programs altogether. We cannot allow fear to determine whether or not a child will have enough to eat during the school day and at home.”
“Across the country, WIC providers have already reported a heightened level of fear among immigrant and mixed-status families seeking WIC services. In some cases, eligible families have even sought to withdraw from WIC, returning food benefits and breast pumps to clinic sites,” said Nell Menefee-Libey, senior public policy manager at the National WIC Association. “No family should have to choose between accessing essential nutrition support and feeling safe. Forcing them to do so is an abdication of our shared responsibility to our nation’s children.”
With immigrant families accounting for 28% of the nation’s population, the final public charge regulation threatens the health and wellbeing of millions and undermines the nation’s health and economic stability. And as half the people in immigrant families are U.S. citizens, the harm resulting from this regulation extends well beyond immigrants.
Geschu, Menefee-Libey, and Hayes spoke to reporters Thursday by teleconference. A copy of the recording is available to journalists on request.
