The Trump administration’s “public charge” rule – which makes it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they use public benefits – cannot be implemented during the coronavirus pandemic, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, ABC News reports.
Judge George Daniels of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a nationwide injunction halting enforcing of the requirements.
The matter is now likely to be heard by the Supreme Court, which in January voted 5-4 to move forward with the plan – but that was prior to the pandemic. The Department of Homeland Security started enforcing the rule in February.
A group of state attorney generals from New York and other states had asked the court to issue an injunction against the rule, but their request was denied.
In his opinion, Daniels wrote that since that ruling in April, the COVID-19 pandemic has gotten worse and "the irreparable harm and public interests that warrant an injunction have come into sharper focus."
"We no longer need to imagine the worst-case scenario; we are experiencing its dramatic effects in real time," he wrote.
Green card applicants who relied on social services as their primary means of financial support in the past could be denied permanent residency under what is known as the “public charge” rule, which. President Donald Trump has sought an expansion of the requirements, but critics argue that could mean no healthcare for legal immigrants during the pandemic.
“For nearly five months, the Public Charge Rule has further exacerbated the public health crisis the country faces by punishing New York and other immigrant-rich states — stripping families of their ability to access basic services,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Thursday. “Immigrants have been on the front lines fighting this pandemic from the start, and today’s injunction will ensure they are not targeted for obtaining health coverage or other vital services, as they continue to battle COVID-19.”
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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