On June 10 the 7th Circuit Court upheld a preliminary injunction blocking the new public charge rule enforcement in Illinois. The initial injunction was issued in October 2019, the day before the new rule was scheduled to go into effect. On August 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced their plan to broaden the authority of U.S. Immigration officers in denying applicants of green cards, visa extensions, or other changes in immigration status. An officer’s ability to deny or approve an immigration application would be expanded to include factors based on the potential for future use of “public benefits” such as food stamps, Medicaid, and housing assistance.
In announcing the decision to continue to block public charge rule enforcement blocked, Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Diane Wood wrote that enforcement of the new public rule in Cook County:
“will cause immigrants, including those not covered by the rule, to disenroll from, or refrain from enrolling in, federal Medicaid and state-level public health programs. This already has led to reduction in rates of preventive medicine and caused immigrants to rely on uncompensated emergency care from Cook County’s hospital system. The result for the county will be a significant increase in costs it must bear and a higher county-wide risk of vaccine-preventable and other communicable diseases for its population as a whole.”
In this video, Chicago immigration attorney Mario Godoy explains the new public charge rule announced on August 14, 2019, and who will be affected by the rule as well as some of the new changes.
With pending DHS regulation, it is imperative that you speak to an immigration attorney that could help you understand how any changes to immigration law could affect your current or pending application for immigration status within the United States.
Mario Godoy and the experienced immigration attorneys at Godoy Law Office can assess your situation and immigration application status. With experience in many different types of immigration cases and understanding of the impact of new immigration regulations, it can be beneficial for you to contact an immigration lawyer today. Please call us at 855-554-6369.
