NYC immigrants rights organizations sue Trump administration to stop ‘public charge’ rule
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“This is just another part of the Trumps’ broader family separation agenda. And frankly, this agenda to make this country as white as possible,” said Make the Road NY’s Health Programs Manager Arline Cruz. Eagle photos by Victoria Merlino.
By Victoria Merlino
Immigrants rights organization Make the Road New York joined The Legal Aid Society and a host of other advocacy organizations in Jackson Heights Tuesday to announce that they are suing the Trump administration over its “public charge rule,” which could have a devastating impact on Queens’ immigrant community.
Immigrants can currently be denied entry or residency into the United States based on their likeliness of participating in cash assistance program, or their likeliness of receiving long-term institutional care.
The Trump administration proposes expanding this definition to include those who have used, or may use, services like Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Section 8 housing. The law is scheduled to take effect Oct. 15.
In a borough where 47 percent of the population are immigrants, the public charge rule has the potential to create even more confusion, following a summer filled with fear over Immigration And Customs Enforcement crackdowns, leaders said inside Make the Road NY’s Jackson Heights office.
“The new public charge rule is an attempt to change how immigration works in this country,” said Make the Road NY’s Health Programs Manager Arline Cruz. “Instead of a family-based system, the administration wants to create a wealth-based system that makes it harder and harder and harder for immigrants of color to remain with their families in this country.”
Assemblymember Catalina Cruz speaks out against the proposed “public charge” rule.
“This is just another part of the Trumps’ broader family separation agenda,” Cruz added. “And frankly, this agenda to make this country as white as possible.”
Blanca Palomeque, an organizer with Make the Road NY and an immigrant from Ecuador, spoke about her battle with ovarian cancer, and said her declining health forced her to stop working. She said Medicaid allowed her to afford treatment and beat cancer.
Palomeque, a Queens resident, said she was able to qualify for a green card in 2008 and later became a U.S. citizen.
“If this public charge rule had gone into effect 11 years ago when I was applying for my green card, I don’t know what I would have done,” she said in Spanish. “I can’t imagine being put in the position of choosing between my health and getting my green card.”
“This rule will put families at risk who are in the same situation I was in,” she said, adding that she receives questions about the rule from concerned people in her community every day. “I hear stories every day of people questioning if they should disenroll in benefits.”
Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, who represents Corona, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, spoke out against the public charge rule, saying she had the honor to represent the district with the highest number of immigrants and undocumented immigrants in the state.
“My district will be one of the most affected — not just by this rule, but by every single new piece of political strategy that comes out of the White House,” Cruz said. “Because we’re almost at election time, and we’re going to see more and more tactics like these that are going to try and take the humanity away from our community to then turn it into votes and money for [Trump’s] re-election.”
Assemblymember Nily Rozic, Councilmember Daniel Dromm and a representative for State Sen. Jessica Ramos were also on hand to offer support to Queens’ immigrant community.
Advocates from Make the Road demonstrate against the Trump administration's proposed public charge rule change.
Other groups supporting the lawsuit include the African Services Committee, Asian American Federation, Catholic Charities Community Services and Catholic Legal Immigration Network. They will be represented by The Legal Aid Society, the Center for Constitutional Rights and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.
“At the Legal Aid Society, we know firsthand that many individuals and families are accessing vital government assistance programs to supplement their low-wage work as they move up the ladder to economic success,” said Legal Aid attorney Hasan Shafiqullah, who is in charge of the organization’s Immigration Law Unit.
“This new public charge rule is simply the Trump administration’s latest and most far-reaching attack on immigrant families. We will not let Trump punish our clients and all immigrants by weaponizing the safety net that is there for all of us in hard times,” he continued.
Politicians on the borough, city and state level have increasingly railed against the “public charge” rule as its implementation date draws closer.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit on Aug. 20 challenging the rule’s expansion, a move backed by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Borough President Melinda Katz, the Democratic nominee for Queens District Attorney, is also vehemently opposed to the rule, and will be hosting a town hall on what it could mean for Queens residents on Sept. 17.
