August 14, 2019regulatory actionimmigration policypublic benefitsimmigrationregulation
Trump administration finalizes the 2019 public charge rule
The Department of Homeland Security published a rule letting officials count benefits like Medicaid, food assistance and housing aid against green-card applicants under the "public charge" test. The rule took effect in February 2020 after court fights. It marked the first major expansion of public charge in decades.