Misleading public charge policy will lead to increase in poverty and hunger
DENVER (January 28, 2020) — Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to temporarily lift the nationwide injunction that was blocking implementation of the Trump administration’s new public charge regulation. This new rule would allow immigration officials to consider use of a wider range of public benefits, including SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) when determining if someone is likely to become a burden on the U.S. government in the future.
Hunger Free Colorado strongly opposes the public charge regulation and is deeply disappointed by the Court’s decision to allow implementation of a rule that will cause irreparable harm to the health and well-being of Colorado communities.
As the state’s leading anti-hunger organization, Hunger Free Colorado expects implementation of this rule to cause widespread increases in poverty, hunger and unmet health needs by making immigrant families afraid to use SNAP and other public benefits to weather life storms.
While the regulation directly affects only a small number of immigrants, the fear and confusion caused by the rule has already caused many families to forego vital public assistance that strengthens our communities – assistance that they are legally entitled to receive. Even though the rule does not consider the use of benefits by U.S. citizens or people not subject to the public charge test, these groups will feel the harmful impact of these regulations because of the fear it causes their family, extended family and community.
To clarify, while the new rule is harmful, it is also limited in scope. We want to remind Coloradans that food resources remain available and accessible in safe spaces. Most immigrants who qualify for the impacted public assistance programs, like SNAP, are not subject to public charge because these programs already have very strict eligibility requirements.
The public charge test does not apply to all immigrants. Refugees, asylees, survivors of trafficking, domestic violence and other serious crimes, and other “humanitarian” immigrants are not affected. Lawful permanent residents (or “green card holders”) are not affected unless they leave the U.S. for more than 180 days and seek to reenter. There is also no public charge test during the citizenship application process.
Many programs are not included in the new rule. Vital food and nutrition programs like WIC, free and reduced-price school meals, food pantries, soup kitchens and more are not included in the public charge test. If an individual is not subject to the public charge test, we highly recommend that they continue to use the SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, that they and their family are eligible for.
Please call our free, bilingual and confidential Food Resource Hotline at 855-855-4626 to learn more about food resources in your community. No appointments needed, call Monday – Friday (8 am – 4:30 pm) and we’ll connect you and your family to nutritious food resources nearby.
Media Contact: Ellie Agar, Director of Communications, (720) 464-3620