In response to a Biden Administration request, the U.S. Supreme Court today dismissed an upcoming case challenging the Trump Administration’s “public charge” rule, which restricted access to legal status for immigrants considered likely to accept public assistance. In response to the ruling, which paves the way to ending the public charge rule, Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus on Children, issued the following statement:
“For more than two years, immigrant families have been afraid to access critical services for which they were eligible because of the previous administration’s public charge rule and anti-immigrant rhetoric. The rule negatively impacted children’s health and development, and was a public health disaster during the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to the Biden Administration, litigators, and a federal judicial decision, the public charge rule will soon be no more.
The administration’s next steps are critical to ensure that children and families feel comfortable coming forward to access health, nutrition and economic supports, including those related to COVID-19 relief efforts. We encourage the Administration to quickly provide information to communities about the rule’s rollback, and look forward to working with them to ensure all children have access to the benefits they need to grow and thrive.”