An immigration rule from the Trump era that denies the green cards of immigrants who use public benefits such as food stamps was likely given fatal blows on Tuesday after the government in Biden abandoned legal challenges, including before the Supreme Court.
Continuing to defend the rule “is not in the public interest nor to make effective use of limited government resources,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
The Supreme Court will not consider the legality of the so-called public charge rule due to an agreement by the Biden government and the parties and states disputing it. The Department of Justice also filed objections to a decision before the 7th U.S. Court of Appeals, which upheld the November order of a federal judge violating the government nationwide.
The moves were the latest outgrowth of the Biden administration’s effort to undo the Trump administration’s immigration policy. The new administration recently rejected appeals from the Supreme Court over former President Trump’s attempt not to fund so-called sanctuary communities.
The judges also, at the request of the government, adjourned cases they had agreed to hear about the financing of sections of the wall along the border with Mexico and the policy of forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their trials.
Immigrant rights advocates on Tuesday celebrated the court action over the public indictment after years of complicated legal battles in several states.
While the Trump administration has proposed the rule first proposed in 2018 as a way to ensure that only those who are self-sufficient come to the U.S., advocates for immigration rights said it comes down to a “wealth test” and public health experts said it would lead to poorer health. outcomes.
“After four years of fighting the regime, it is officially dead from the first time it is officially announced,” Aaron Reichlin-Melnick told the U.S. Immigration Service.
The Supreme Court in late February agreed to hear an appeal from the Trump administration, which was filed for the first time last year, over a lower court ruling against the rule of public indictment. The policy allows immigrants to refuse permanent residence status due to their use of food stamps, Medicaid, house vouchers or other public benefits. The judges agreed to hear the case, even though President Biden requested that the rule be reviewed “from top to bottom”.
However, Biden’s administration on Tuesday withdrew the appeal, saying all parties involved had agreed to dismiss the case.
The administration has taken similar steps before the Chicago Court of Appeals. After U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman rejected the rule on the eve of the election, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stopped applying it to all pending applications and petitions across the country. But that changed course on election day after the federal appeals court allowed the rule to be reinstated while considering the case.
Immigrant groups opposed to the policy said the agreement on Tuesday “paved the way for this illegal rule to eventually no longer be enforced.”
Previously, the Supreme Court shared 5-4 on allowing the policy to take effect while the lawsuit continues. This legal challenge involved New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New York City, and several other organizations.
“We have rejected this case and restored the preliminary injunction ensuring that those living in New York and in other states do not have to choose between their immigration status and the necessary support to survive,” New York said. Atty. Gen. Letitia James said in a statement. “Quite simply, today, fewer children will go hungry and more families will receive the medical care they desperately need.”
Under the Trump administration policy, green card applicants had to show that they would be no burden to the country or ‘public charges’.
Under federal law, those with permanent residence or legal status had to prove that they would not be a ‘public indictment’. But the Trump administration included a wider range of programs that could disqualify it.