Partner Toolkit

Trump Public Charge Talking Points

In May 2024, members of our Community Education Working Group flagged for us that families had begun raising concerns about the outcome of November’s election and, in particular, that a Trump win could result in the return of Trump’s public charge policy or similar restrictions. As Election Day approaches, we expect families to raise such concerns more frequently, and we wanted to help partners respond. We worked with our Community Education WG members to develop these talking points. While we are making these available as a resource, we understand that each community is different and not all partners will elect to use them. If you do use them, we would love to hear how they worked – please share your experience with Alicia Wilson and Ed Walz of the PIF team.

New Arrivals

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and some other politicians serving communities that have historically welcomed immigrants have responded to the arrival of recent immigrants by taking anti-immigrant positions. Senate Democrats also shifted this year, now pushing a floor vote on anti-immigrant legislation despite the objection of more than 100 nonprofits. As Election Day approaches, more such attacks are likely, and some – like Mayor Adams’ – will focus on the cost of providing health care, housing, and other services that meet the basic needs of immigrant families, suggesting an important defensive role for PIF partners.

Public statements by PIF partners can help to balance the scales, so that anti-immigrant critiques are not the only messages shaping the public debate. Your statements can also send an important signal to politicians that attacks on immigrant families will have consequences.

We want to make it easier for your organization to raise its voice if and when you make that choice. To that end, we’re sharing three resources developed in collaboration with PIF partners:

• PIF op-ed template – More Welcoming – To develop this template, we worked with more than a dozen PIF partners who are members of our Communications and Community Education working groups. It is ideal for communities with a tradition of welcoming immigrant families, and it focuses on challenging politicians who scapegoat immigrant families to take responsibility for solving the problems facing their communities.
• PIF op-ed template – More Conflicted – While this version of the above template is also focused on challenging our politicians, its tone, structure, and language may make it more strategic for regions and audiences who are more conflicted and less supportive of immigrants / immigration issues. It was developed in partnership with the CoLAB and CIPC.
• MomsRising letter-to-the-editor example – PIF partner MomsRising has worked with its members to place letters like this one in states as diverse as Illinois and Florida. The letter challenges politicians to acknowledge immigrants’ contributions to the national and local economy. You can use a tool on the MomsRising website to customize and submit your letter to larger newspapers across the country.

If you end up using one of these resources, please let us know by emailing Ed Walz of our Communications Working Group or Alicia Wilson of our Community Education Working Group.

DACA Affordable Care Act pitches

New regulations make an estimated 100,000 people with DACA eligible for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. But states and the federal government have work to do to translate that policy change into real health gains for immigrant families. These two pitches (one for states with their own marketplaces and one for states that use the federal marketplace) can help start a conversation with local reporters to put some pressure on policymakers.

Biden Public Charge Final Regulation Toolkit

Updated December 2023

These resources are intended to make it easier for partners to conduct community outreach or advocacy activities. PIF may be able to provide additional support. To learn more or discuss further, please contact info@pifcoalition.org.

• Public Charge: What Advocates Need to Know
• Press statement template
• Finding Common Ground — A guide to negotiating a news interview with a family spokesperson, prepared by PIF’s Communications Working Group and Community Education Working Group.
• Social media posts and images
• 2024 Template Public Charge Presentation (English, Español)
• Animated videos for people who:
  • Are US citizens
  • Have a green card
  • Plan to apply for a family-based green card
  • Have a humanitarian status like TPS or a U or T visa
  • Are undocumented but have an US citizen child
• Community engagement materials
• PIF Webinar September 12, 2022 — Experts review the new public charge final regulation and take questions from PIF partners.
  • Video recording
  • Slides PDF
  • Google Slides – This link creates a copy of the presentation in Google Slides that you can edit and rebrand without affecting the original