The Trump administration on July 16 announced it is reinstating a rule that allows federal authorities to deny green cards to immigrants who utilize Medicaid and other benefit programs.
The rule was implemented during President Donald Trump’s first term and enabled U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to deny green cards or entry to the United States to immigrants who have used welfare programs or aliens deemed likely to use them. USCIS personnel were previously allowed to consider use or likely use of several, but not all, welfare programs.
The Biden administration rescinded the rule in 2021 and offered updated guidance that narrowed which programs officials could consider.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded the Biden-era guidance on Thursday through a new rule set to take effect on Sept. 18.
DHS had said in 2025 it was proposing to rescind the guidance and asked for public comment on the proposal. Officials said they considered the comments, most of which opposed rescinding the guidance, and decided to proceed.
“By removing rigid regulatory definitions and standards, this rule ensures that officers can make highly individualized, fact-specific, case-by-case public charge inadmissibility decisions based on the totality of each alien’s individual circumstances,” the new rule states. “This approach will prevent the application of overly restrictive criteria that straitjackets DHS officers’ ability to make public charge inadmissibility determinations.”
“The Trump administration is upholding the rule of law and protecting American taxpayers from subsidizing aliens who may become dependent on public benefits. USCIS is committed to safeguarding the safety, security, and financial well-being of Americans,” USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said in a statement.
The change could save federal and state governments some $13 billion a year from immigrants and U.S. citizens who live with immigrants disenrolling in public benefit programs, DHS estimated.
The Immigration and Nationality Act says that aliens are inadmissible if they are “likely at any time to become a public charge.”
Under 1999 guidance, immigration authorities defined immigrants as public charges if they were primarily dependent on the government, due to participation in programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Participation in a number of other programs, including Medicaid and the federal food stamp program, was excluded.
The 2019 rule from Trump’s first term enabled authorities to count participation in Medicaid and other programs against immigrants and aliens.
The rule prompted lawsuits and was blocked by courts, but ultimately was allowed to be implemented by the Supreme Court. Justices after Biden took office tossed a case attempting to defend the rule because the federal government did not want to defend it.
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