Children’s HealthWatch strongly opposes the Department of Homeland Security’s final public charge rule. By rescinding the clear standards established in 2022 and authorizing immigration officers to consider an applicant’s use of any means-tested or income-based benefit, the rule replaces consistent regulation with broad and subjective discretion. This punitive rule will jeopardize the health and safety of children and families by deepening fear and confusion and leading eligible children and families to forgo essential support they need to grow and thrive.
DHS’ sweeping and poorly-defined new standard will create concrete harm to children through the “chilling effect,” when families eligible for safety net programs do not participate because of fear that enrollment will have negative consequences for their families’ status in the U.S. This leads caregivers in mixed-status families — including parents of U.S.-citizen children — to avoid health care, nutrition assistance, housing support, and other services for which their families remain eligible. DHS’s own analysis estimates that more than 1.2 million people may disenroll from or forgo public benefits because of the chilling effect.
Extensive research, including from Children’s HealthWatch, documents how participation in safety net programs positively benefits the health and well-being of young children and their families, which in turn benefits the U.S. as a whole. Evidence also shows what happens when immigration-related fear enters families’ homes: preventive health care utilization declines, participation in nutrition programs falls, food insecurity rises, and parents experience profound stress and anxiety. For infants and young children, losing nutritious food, health care access, or stable housing during a critical developmental period can cause lasting — and potentially permanent — harm.
“When policy drives eligible families away from proven health and nutrition supports, children bear the consequences long after the debate ends,” said Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Executive Director of Children’s HealthWatch. “We should be helping families build stable, healthy futures, not making them afraid to access programs that help them meet their basic needs.”
This rule comes as federal cuts and eligibility restrictions are already taking effect across health care, nutrition assistance, and other safety net supports for immigrant families. Layering hardship and a chilling effect onto these losses will make children sicker, deepen material hardship, and raise long-term costs for state government and communities across the nation.
Children’s HealthWatch urges DHS to withdraw its new public charge rule and restore guidance that prioritizes children’s health and well-being over fear. Our nation should pursue policies that protect children’s health and ensure every child can safely access the services they and their families need. Congress should pass the LIFT the BAR Act to reverse eligibility restrictions, restore access to essential programs for lawfully present immigrants, and eliminate arbitrary five-year waiting periods. Healthy children and strong communities are built by opening doors to health care and nutrition — not by making families afraid to walk through them.