With the New Rule Set to Take Effect September 18, Coalition Warns it Could Deter Immigrant Families from Accessing Essential Public Benefits
BOSTON –September 14, 2026 – Press Release – Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today joined 21 other states and D.C. in suing to stop the Trump Administration’s new public charge rule, which would allow immigration officials to punish immigrants for lawful use of public benefits.
The new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy would give immigration officers broad discretion to deny green cards based on use of public benefits. AG Campbell and the coalition are asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to declare this rule unlawful and block its implementation.
“Access to basic necessities like food, health care, and housing should never be used as a weapon against immigrants, and immigrants should never be forced to choose between getting the help they need while seeking permanent status in this country,” said AG Campbell. “The Trump Administration’s new public charge rule threatens to punish immigrants for lawfully accessing public benefits, and I will continue to hold them accountable for their unlawful actions and efforts to create fear and uncertainty around essential services while undermining the dignity of immigrants.”
A “public charge” refers to a person who is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for long-term subsistence. In 2022, the federal government issued a rule limiting public charge determinations to individuals requiring cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization at government expense, consistent with the long-standing interpretation of this term.
The Trump Administration’s new rule, taking effect September 18, would let immigration officers count nearly any means-tested public benefit, used for any length of time, against an applicant. The rule also allows immigration officers to consider some benefits legally used by family members, even if the family member is a U.S. citizen. There is no clear limit on which benefits, or how much use, count against an applicant, leaving families to guess which forms of assistance might put their immigration status at risk.
AG Campbell and the coalition argue that the Administration has acknowledged that the fear and confusion created by the new rule could lead immigrant families to disenroll from benefits to which they are legally entitled. DHS estimates that disenrollment or forgone enrollment resulting from the new rule could reduce federal Medicaid and CHIP transfer payments to the states by approximately $4.05 billion annually and federal SNAP transfer payments by approximately 1.02 billion annually.
According to the lawsuit, the consequences arising from the administration’s new rule will be wide ranging. When people lose access to health coverage, they delay care and turn to emergency rooms instead, straining safety-net hospitals and community health centers and raising costs for everyone. Schools risk losing automatic certification for free and reduced-price meal programs when SNAP and Medicaid enrollment drops below required thresholds, cutting off meals for eligible students regardless of income or immigration status. Federal Title I education funding is also likely to fall if student enrollment in benefits decreases. Reduced participation in SNAP can also harm local economies, draining money from the grocery stores and local businesses that depend on SNAP recipients’ business.
The states and local governments that administer these benefit programs will bear direct costs, including new communications, staff trainings, and information technology changes needed to manage the disruption arising from the public charge rule. These costs are on top of the added strain of residents cycling on and off programs out of fear.
AG Campbell and the coalition argue that the new rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it is arbitrary and capricious, exceeds DHS’s statutory authority, and departs from the longstanding meaning of the public charge provision. The attorneys general are asking a federal judge to declare the 2026 public charge rule unlawful and vacate it, protecting states and their residents from its unlawful harms.
Joining AG Campbell in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, and the governor of Pennsylvania. The lawsuit was also filed alongside a coalition of cities and counties led by the City of New York.
