By Rosann Mariappuram, J.D., If/When/How Reproductive Justice Fellow at Legal Voice/Surge

In 1882, Congress passed two deeply damaging immigration laws – the Chinese Exclusion Act and the 1882 Immigration Act. The first was a racist backlash against Chinese laborers and the second targeted people with disabilities, people with criminal histories, and the poor. Under the 1882 Act, the U.S. could refuse to admit anyone who would be “unable to take care of himself or herself without becoming a public charge.” This new “public charge” test had the immediate effect of turning away from U.S. shores thousands of Irish immigrants who were fleeing the potato famine.

The 1882 laws reveal the racist and classist foundations of much of American immigration law. Reproductive justice responds to this hate by centering that all people should have the freedom to live without fear of persecution because of immigration status. Reproductive justice holds that all immigrants should have access to healthcare, safe and affordable housing, a living wage, and the ability to raise children without fear of deportation or family separation. The public charge rule is inherently unjust because it violates these principles and creates an economic barrier of entry to the United States.

Immigration status should not have a price of admission. Reproductive justice is immigrant justice, and all of us deserve the same freedom.

The definition of a public charge has evolved over time as our immigration system has formalized under agencies like U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The current public charge test is based on 1999 guidance from the Clinton administration. The modern public charge test applies to immigrants seeking legal permanent resident (LPR) status, also known as getting a “green card.” The 1999 guidance tells immigration officers who are reviewing green card petitions to consider the totality of each person’s circumstances. It negatively weighs only cash-assistance programs and expressly prohibits the consideration of non-cash assistance programs. This critical distinction allows many immigrants, especially women and children, to access healthcare, food and housing programs while they wait to hear back on their immigration petitions.

This fall, the Trump administration announced plans to drastically expand the scope of the public charge test. Trump’s proposed public charge rules will;

• Require most immigrants to prove they have a middle-class income to pass the public charge test– i.e. over 250 percent of the federal poverty line. That’s an annual income of $62, 750 for a family of four.
• Single out people with disabilities and serious health conditions as public charges, unless they pay for their healthcare costs entirely out of pocket or through their employer.
• Count someone as a public charge if it is likely they will receive almost any public service, tax credit, or assistance in the future based on income. This includes health, nutrition and housing programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), low-income subsidy for prescription drug costs under Medicare Part D, Section 8 public housing vouchers, and non-emergency Medicaid.

These proposed new rules will make it harder for immigrants to gain legal status in the U.S. It is estimated that the number of immigrants who will qualify as a public charge will increase 15 fold– from 3% under the current policy to 47% under the new rules. It will disproportionately harm people of color, women, and children. The rules will frighten many families away from using services that they need, forcing them to choose between food, healthcare and housing or a path to legal status in the United States. These are terrible choices that no one should have to make.

Reproductive justice holds that all immigrants should have access to healthcare, safe and affordable housing, a living wage, and the ability to raise children without fear of deportation or family separation.

You can fight back by submitting a comment opposing the proposed public charge rules by December 10th. As part of the process to pass an administrative rule the federal government is required to read and respond to feedback from the public – so your voice matters! Organizations – schools, charities, companies – can also submit comments on behalf of the communities they represent and serve. Protect Immigrant Families is the national coalition leading the fight against the public charge rules and has great resources where you can learn more about the campaign.

Remember not to just reject the new public charge rule but the concept of a “public charge” in its entirety. Immigration status should not have a price of admission. Reproductive justice is immigrant justice, and all of us deserve the same freedom.

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