The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is thrilled that five district courts have issued preliminary injunctions to stop the Administration’s public charge rule from going into effect. Last Friday, October 11, 2019, injunctions were issued in New York, Washington, and California, and on Sunday, Illinois and Maryland followed with two more. NCIL, along with seventeen other national disability rights groups, filed an amicus brief (PDF) in several of these cases.
The final public charge rule would have gone into effect yesterday, October 15. The public charge rule would create significant additional barriers for immigrants – and especially disabled and poor immigrants – to enter the US or become lawful permanent residents. Under the new rule, receiving certain public benefits – like Medicaid, housing assistance, SNAP, or healthcare subsidies – or having a medical condition or disability can be used to deny entry or permanent residency. Disabled and low-income immigrants are clearly targeted by this rule, and the decisions from last week and yesterday are a huge victory.
The fight against the public charge rule is not over though, and NCIL will continue our work to oppose it. We will keep you updated as things move forward and as any need for advocacy arises. In the meantime, thank you for your work on this issue already.
