The U.S. Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied the Trump administration’s demand to lift a nationwide block of its “public charge” rule change, Reuters reports, a discriminatory policy move that attacks both working immigrant families and the legal immigration system.
The rule change, a long-time obsession of White House aide and noted white supremacist Stephen Miller, would make it much easier for the federal government to deny green cards to immigrants who are legally accessing, or might access, public benefits such as food assistance. Advocates and state leaders sued over the policy, which was ultimately blocked by five federal judges last year.
One of those judges, U.S. District Judge George Daniels in New York, assailed the policy as “repugnant to the American Dream,” writing in a ruling that “Immigrants have always come to this country seeking a better life for themselves and their posterity.” In another ruling that same day, California U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton wrote that officials "made no attempt, whatsoever, to investigate the type or magnitude of harm” that could result from the change.
The fight around the rule change continues, however, with Reuters further reporting that “Several lawsuits challenging the rule are pending. Two other federal appeals courts previously ruled for the administration by staying nationwide injunctions ordered by lower courts, while a third appeals court let stand an injunction covering Illinois. Because the New York case also involved a nationwide injunction, Wednesday’s order means the rule cannot be enforced anywhere.”
A New York leader who has been a key figure in the litigation against the administration, state Attorney General Letitia James, celebrated the decision in a tweet. “The Trump administration’s attempt to overturn the nationwide block of their Public Charge rule has been DENIED,” she wrote. “The rule is dangerous, disruptive, and unlawful. We will continue to fight against it.”