States and cities sue to block expanded public-charge green-card rule set for Friday
NEW · Mon. ~4:00 p.m. EDT
New York Attorney General Letitia James led 22 states and D.C. in a Monday Southern District of New York suit challenging a Department of Homeland Security public-charge rule set to take effect Friday that would again let officers weigh non-cash benefits such as SNAP and Medicaid when deciding green-card applications. A parallel case led by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani includes Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and other localities. Plaintiffs call the rule unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act; a DHS spokesperson cast the challengers as sanctuary jurisdictions trying to keep noncitizens on welfare programs.
Specimen of a U.S. permanent resident card (green card). U.S. government image; not from Monday’s filings.
USCIS / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Center-left view
Reuters’s Monday filing wrap, ABC News’s mayors-and-states coverage, and James’s AG press statement cast the twin SDNY suits as a replay of successful challenges to the first-term public-charge expansion: Democratic AGs and city leaders argue DHS exceeds statute, leaves families guessing which benefits jeopardize status, and will push eligible households off food and health aid before Friday’s effective date.
Sources: Reuters · ABC News · N.Y. Attorney General
Center-right view
Fox News’s Monday Mamdani–James report and DHS’s statement quoted by Reuters frame the suits as sanctuary-state resistance to restoring a first-term public-charge screen — DHS called plaintiffs “left-wing leaders” worried noncitizens might leave welfare programs — while Fox notes the White House had no immediate comment and that asylum seekers and citizens are outside the green-card benefits test.
Sources: Fox News · Reuters (DHS statement) · Fox News Video