NY Officials Pledge Court Fight Over 'Public Charge' Rule

NEW YORK — New York City and state officials pledged Monday to take the Trump administration to court over a rule targeting immigrants who use public benefits.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and state Attorney General Letitia James joined immigrant-rights advocates in threatening legal action against the final "public charge" rule, which would require immigrants seeking green cards or visas to show they are not likely to rely on certain government programs such as food stamps.

The Department of Homeland Security released the final rule to the Federal Register on Monday after its opponents flooded the agency with negative comments. It's set to go into effect in October.

"The America we know was built by hardworking dreamers from all over the world. That’s the America we’re fighting to protect," de Blasio, a Democrat who's also running for president, said in a statement. "To our immigrant New Yorkers: we stand with you now and always. To our president: we’ll see you in court."

Many immigrants seeking green cards or visas have to show they are not likely to become a "public charge" who depends on public funds to get by. The Trump administration's rule, first proposed in Octber, defines the term broadly to give the government great latitude to deny applications based on whether a person gets public benefits and other criteria, such as age, health and the size of their family.

City and state officials decried the proposal as an attack on immigrants striving to stay in the country legally. It may have already scared many immigrants off of food stamps and could discourage more than a quarter-million New Yorkers from seeking health care at public hospitals, city officials have said.

James, a Democrat, said she plans to bring a lawsuit against the rule. Major immigrant- and civil-rights groups made similar threats Monday, including the Center for Constitutional Rights and the National Immigration Law Center.

"Under this rule, children will go hungry; families will go without medical care," James said in a statement. "I am committed to defending all of New York’s communities, which is why I intend to sue the Trump Administration over this egregious rule."

The Department of Homeland Security contends that the rule change will help ensure that immigrants who get legal status in the U.S. will be "self-sufficient." The rule will not apply to refugees, people seeking asylum or other "vulnerable" groups.

"Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet," Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in an NPR interview, editing the famous Statue of Liberty poem. "And who will not become a public charge."

But the rule could hurt hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the five boroughs, city officials have warned.

It would force about 75,000 people to choose between accessing benefits to which they're entitled and pursuing permanent residency in the U.S., while another 400,000 could be turned down for green cards or visas just becuase of their age, health, income, employment history and other factors, according to an analysis the city released last fall.

Experts worry it could also increase New Yorkers' reliance on emergency food banks, many of which are already stretched thin.

"The ‘public charge’ rule is yet another attempt by the Trump administration to instill fear and concern among working immigrant families, but rest assured New Yorkers are fighters and the City will do everything in our power to ensure people have the resources they need to at this critical time," Bitta Mostofi, the city's immigrant affairs commissioner, said in a statement.

Patch editor Kathleen Culliton contributed to this report.