July 20, 2026
Los Angeles, Calif. (June 25, 2026) — The Trump administration finalized a new “public charge” rule set to take effect today that gives immigration officers broader authority to deny permanent residency to immigrants lawfully present in the country who have used certain public programs, such as Medicaid, food, or housing assistance.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the final rule rescinding the current regulations regarding administration of federal immigration law’s “public charge” provision applicable to lawfully present immigrants applying for “green cards.” An initial reading of the final rule suggests the administration largely disregarded the thousands of public comments submitted in opposition when the rule was first proposed last November.
Under the outgoing policy, established in 2022 by the Biden administration, immigration officers could only consider whether green card applicants had used cash assistance or had gotten nursing home care through Medicaid.
By removing that concrete language, the finalized rule opens the green card review process to arbitrary denials and political bias. It also allows DHS to reject green card applications based on obesity or any other personal characteristic the administration elects to consider.
A similar Trump public charge regulation, implemented in 2019, was ruled illegal by a federal court and struck down. While that rule’s technical application was limited to a small number of lawfully present immigrants applying for green cards, its chilling effect was far broader, leading millions of immigrants and their family members to avoid seeking assistance and care they were legally eligible to receive.
Responding to the final rule’s publication, CIPC issued the following statement from Benyamin Chao, Health & Public Benefits Policy Manager at the California Immigrant Policy Center:
“People’s health and wellbeing should always be our first priority. Instead, this rule puts people’s health and safety at risk. Even though most immigrants in California are not immediately at risk due to public charge, finalizing this rule creates confusion that discourages families from seeking help in their time of need. We saw what happened last time a similar rule took effect. Millions of people, including US citizens and green card holders, avoided care they were legally entitled to, out of fear. We call on everyone, including state and local leaders, to speak out and make sure families have accurate information about what programs they are eligible for and whether this new rule applies to them. We must all act to protect immigrant families from this xenophobic and cruel rule.”
For more information and details about this rule, please see this factsheet.
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