The Department of Homeland Security Begins Implementing Its Public Charge Rule on February 24, 2020
Allison Orris, Elizabeth Dervan, Alice Lam, and Patricia Boozang, Manatt Health
The Supreme Court has granted the
Administration’s requests to stay preliminary injunctions that blocked the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) public charge final rule from taking
effect in October 2019. As a result of the Supreme Court rulings, the
government will move forward with its dramatic changes to public charge.
The new rule was implemented nationwide on
February 24, 2020, as announced by DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
on January
30, 2020 and February
22, 2020. This means that for applications for admission or lawful
permanent residence (a green card) submitted on or after that date, DHS public
charge determinations will newly consider certain immigrants’ use of
non-emergency Medicaid (with exceptions for pregnant women and children under
21), housing assistance, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits
as well as an expanded set of factors about an applicant’s circumstances,
including credit history and English proficiency. Coverage through the
Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Marketplace, Medicare, and state or
local health care programs will not be considered. Importantly, the rule will
not be enforced retroactively; USCIS clarified that it will not consider a
person’s receipt of, or applications for, non-cash benefits prior to the
February 24, 2020 effective date.
DHS had been blocked from implementing the rule since October as a result of preliminary injunctions issued by federal district courts in multiple states. Three courts (in New York, Maryland, and Washington) had issued nationwide orders, while two others (in California and Illinois) issued injunctions that were more limited in scope. Soon thereafter, the federal government asked Courts of Appeals in the Second, Fourth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits to stay the preliminary injunctions while the government appealed the lower court decisions. The Fourth and Ninth Circuits granted the government’s requests, rolling back nationwide orders from Maryland and Washington as well as a limited order from California that applied to 13 states. The Seventh Circuit denied the stay request and kept a preliminary injunction in place for Illinois. On January 8, the Second Circuit also denied the government’s stay request, allowing the New York nationwide preliminary injunction against DHS to remain in effect. DHS then appealed the Second Circuit’s decision to the Supreme Court. In a January 27 order, the Supreme Court allowed DHS to begin implementing the final rule in all states but Illinois, where the statewide preliminary injunction remained in effect. DHS also then appealed the Seventh Circuit’s decision to the Supreme Court and, on February 21, the Supreme Court granted the Administration’s request and lifted the Illinois preliminary injunction, clearing the path for DHS to implement the rule nationwide on February 24.
The status of the DHS rule could change
dramatically in the months ahead while litigation over the merits of the
preliminary injunctions continues in all four circuit courts. The circuit
courts have each set expedited schedules for the appeals, which means briefing
will likely be complete by early March and decisions may be issued by the end
of May. In the Seventh Circuit, arguments have been scheduled for February 26
and, in the Second Circuit, for March 2. These courts could decide to again
enjoin the rule (a decision the Administration would likely appeal back to the
Supreme Court) or could determine that the rule can go into effect.