The Biden Administration finalizes a new public charge regulation adding protections to secure immigrant families' access to the health and social services safety net

New public charge rule clarifies that:

• A child’s or other family member’s use of federal safety net programs never affects the applicant’s immigration application
• Medicaid is safe for eligible immigrant families to use for any other health care need except for long-term use of institutional care
• SNAP, WIC, the Child Tax Credit, Section 8, and other “non-cash” federal programs (and state- and locally-funded versions of those programs) never affect immigration applications
• Many cash programs will not affect immigration applications: unemployment programs, LIHEAP, pandemic relief, veterans benefits and more.
• DHS can consider use of use of SSI, TANF, and state and local cash assistance for income maintenance. However, DHS will take into account how long the benefit was received and how recently, along with other factors like an individual’s education and skills, income, and affidavit of support in making a determination.