By Sanya Wason
Capital News Service
WASHINGTON–Maryland is suing the Trump administration in an effort to block new rules that penalize green card applicants for using government benefits.
Maryland is among 22 states, plus Washington, D.C., and New York City, joining the lawsuit, spurred by the administration’s changes to the policy known as the Public Charge Rule. That rule is meant to assess whether immigrants will become reliant on government services.
A green card permits a person to permanently live and work in the U.S.
Some advocates say the changes are unfair and unfounded. We Are CASA, an immigrant service organization with a Maryland chapter, told Capital News Service in a statement that it supports the lawsuit.
“The new ‘public charge’ rule is yet another attack on immigrant communities,” Shana Khader, legal director of the organization said in the statement.
The Public Charge Rule, which dates to 1882, said that applicants who could not support themselves financially would be denied green cards.
But the rule was changed this fall. Now, applicants will also be assessed on whether they or a family member has used government programs meant for low-income households, such as Medicaid or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), green card applicants will now be evaluated on their age, health, education, skills and family status as well as assets and financial details.
Spouses, children, parents of immigrants, skilled workers and diplomats are subject to the changes. Asylum seekers and most refugees are not, according to the USCIS.
The Public Charge Rule applies only to those who already hold legal status in the U.S. Undocumented immigrants do not have access to public assistance programs.
When asked about the lawsuit, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told CNS in a statement that “sanctuary states are terrified they will lose federal funds because hundreds of thousands of illegals and noncitizens might remove themselves from American welfare programs.”
“We’re shaking in our boots over this supposedly terrible outcome,” a DHS spokesperson added in the statement.
