Finally - DHS Stops Defending the "Public Charge Rule"!

Today the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) will no longer pursue appellate review of judicial decisions invalidating or enjoining the enforcement of the Trump Administration's 2019 “Public Charge” rule. DHS supported this decision by stating that pursuing appellate review was “neither in the public interest nor an efficient use of limited government resources.

Under former President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security announced in 2019 that it would expand the definition of "public charge" to be applied to people who could be denied immigration because of a concern that they would primarily depend on the government for their income.

Lower courts have been divided on whether the “Public Charge” rule violated federal law.  The Trump administration’s DOJ aggressively appealed lower court decisions that blocked enforcement of the rule. The Supreme Court of the United States agreed in late February 2021 to consider the issue.  However, they will no longer hear the case now that the DOJ notified the court that the Biden administration agreed with the local governments challenging the policy that the cases should be dismissed.

This is great news for the immigration community; however, we still need to wait for an official announcement from DHS regarding the enforcement of the rule and the use of the related Form I-944, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency.  In addition, there could be third party lawsuits that may interfere with the complete elimination of the Public Charge rule.