The Trump Administration is drafting a proposed rule that will penalize legal immigrants for using housing assistance and other safety net programs. The proposal will change how the government determines whether an immigrant is a public charge, which means they are primarily dependent on the government to live. Millions of legal immigrants seeking entry to the U.S. or lawful permanent resident status could have their applications rejected, or in rare cases, be deported.
Currently, immigrants are considered a public charge only if they receive more than half their income from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or are in long-term institutional care at government expense. The Trump Administration believes that immigrants are public charges if they receive any amount of government cash or non-cash assistance for basic living needs, including food, housing, utilities and medical care.
The proposal includes a long list of programs and benefits that will count against immigrant applicants. Housing programs include, but are not limited to, Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Basic supports like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) would count against immigrants, even if being used by a child that’s a U.S. citizen. Even receiving a tax refund by qualifying for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would be a strike against a legal immigrant.
For more details about how this proposal will harm legal immigrants, read read Affordable Housing Online’s article here.
I encourage you to tell Congress that the changes to the public charge rule will hurt hard working immigrants and the communities where they live. You can reach your members of Congress by using the form below. An email will go straight to your Representative or Senators. It only takes 60 seconds. Please let your Congress person know how you feel now!
Yours,
Dave Layfield
Founder and CEO, Affordable Housing Online
Since Congress has now voted on this issue, we have removed the Contact Congress email form from this page.
Section 8 vouchers can be moved to another area.
Once certain conditions are met, a Section 8 voucher may be transferred to another area (known as "porting").Francine Harris says:
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