Trump Rule May Be Scaring Immigrants Off Food Stamps, City Says

NEW YORK — A Trump administration proposal to tighten rules for getting a green card may be scaring New York City immigrants away from food stamps, city officials say.

Immigrants have left the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, at an accelerated rate since word of the so-called public charge rule surfaced, suggesting the proposal may have a "chilling effect" for families eligible for benefits, according to an analysis that the city's Department of Social Services and the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs released this week.

"People are concerned and confused about what it means, and we’re seeing that play out in our numbers," Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Bitta Mostofi said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in October proposed broadly defining a "public charge," someone who relies on government funds to get by. The change would give the government great latitude to deny immigrants in the U.S. green cards or visas based on whether they receive public benefits and on other critera.

While they are not absolute proof that the proposal is discouraging immigrants from seeking benefits, officials say, city figures show a correlation between the rule and a dropoff in SNAP enrollment among non-citizens.

The city saw about 25,000 more non-citizens drop out of SNAP between 2017 and 2019 than it would have otherwise expected, the analysis says. And the number of non-citizens in the program dropped 10.9 percent from January 2018 to January 2019 — nearly four times the rate of 2.8 percent for citizens in that period, the city agencies say.

Close to one in five New Yorkers relies on SNAP, also known as food stamps, to feed their families. Eligible non-citizens account for about 200,000 of the 1.6 million people the program helps in the city, according to the analysis.

The city's SNAP caseload started shrinking overall in 2017, with the number of non-citzens dropping 6.2 percent and the number of citizens decreasing 3.2 percent, figures show. That drop is attributable mostly to economic growth and increased stability, according to Mostofi.

But the exodus slowed among citizens last year while non-citzens left the program at a faster rate, the analysis shows. The disparity was especially pronounced in Brooklyn, where non-citizen enrollment shrunk 12 percent but citizen enrollment dropped only 2.9 percent, according to the report.

The additional drop in enrollment from 2017 to 2019 translates into a loss of about $40 million in SNAP benefits for the city, equating to about $72 million in lost economic activity, the report says.

"These losses will be compounded in the coming years if this trend is not reversed," the analysis reads.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. But the agency has argued that its rule change would be consistent with the federal government's intent for immigrants to be self-sufficient.

City officials expressed concerns about the public charge rule when the department proposed it last fall. Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration said then that the shift would force 75,000 New Yorkers to choose between benefits to which they're legally entitled and pursuing permanent residency in the U.S.

Mostofi emphasized that the proposal has not been finalized and SNAP eligibility has not changed. Immigrants concerned about the rule's potential impact should seek legal advice before making any decisions, she said.

"The primary message here is, there’s a proposal. Get the advice that you need for you and your family to understand what that means, whether it has an impact on you, or even could, before choosing to withdraw from a benefit that you need," Mostofi said.