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States and Cities Sue Over Trump’s Policy to Restrict Green Cards
Confirmed
In Short: California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office is leading the challenge, said the rule changes seek to 'rewrite more than 100 years of law' by making even brief use of public benefits in the past grounds for denying a person's application for legal permanent residency in the future.
No family should have to choose between accessing healthcare and nutrition assistance today — or protecting their pathway to a green card tomorrow.
The lawsuits, filed in federal court in New York, are joined by the attorneys general of 19 other states and the District of Columbia, as well as the governor of Pennsylvania. President Trump won office on a promise to rein in illegal immigration, and the new rules are seen as part of that effort.
The new policy, promulgated by Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, gives immigration officers unprecedented discretion to deny admission to families that have tapped any number of public assistance programs. This could shift millions in costs to local governments, according to Bonta.
Among the cities joining the challenge are New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City announced the joint lawsuit with other mayors, and the move is seen as a response to the Trump administration's new rules that could affect green card applicants who have used safety net resources.
What's confirmed
- The Trump administration rescinded that 2022 policy, arguing that it is protecting taxpayer dollars and expects immigrants to be self-sufficient.
What's still developing
- California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, whose office is helping lead the states’ challenge, said the rule changes seek to “rewrite more than 100 years of law” by making even brief use of public benefits in years past grounds for the federal government to deny a person’s application for legal permanent residency in the future — which he said was clearly illegal and would push tremendous costs onto states, counties and cities.
- San Francisco City Atty. David Chiu, whose office is helping lead a separate challenge from Democratic-led cities and counties, said in a statement that the new Trump administration policies are “a blatant attempt to sow fear and confusion in our immigrant communities and coerce people into withdrawing from critical government services” — which he also said would shift millions in costs to local governments.
- “Sanctuary states are terrified they will lose federal funds because hundreds of thousands of illegals and noncitizens might remove themselves from American welfare programs,” the spokesperson said.
- In a morning news conference, Bonta said the Trump administration’s new rules target families in unprecedented ways.
- As another, he said the new rules could penalize immigrant families for accessing basic, preventative healthcare that actually helps control the broader public cost of illness to localities and states.
- A mother and daughter are pictured at a protest against arrests of immigrants at green card appointments in Salt Lake City.
- (Photo by Annie Knox, Utah News Dispatch)States, cities and counties filed a pair of lawsuits Monday challenging new federal rules that will allow immigrants’ use of safety net resources to be taken into account for green cards and other applications to stay in or enter the country.
- Such non-cash benefits were previously restricted from public charge consideration under the Biden administration.