CA Food Banks Celebrate New Public Charge Rule

Yesterday, the Biden Administration issued a new “public charge” immigration regulation, that adds vital protections for immigrant families’ access to life-saving public benefits like SNAP (CalFresh), Medicaid (Medi-Cal), and housing assistance. The new rule published by the Department of Homeland Security unequivocally states that eligible immigrant families will not be penalized for seeking critical supports for food, healthcare, and housing. We celebrate what this will mean for millions of immigrant families across California, and stand ready to work with our many partner organizations to spread awareness about this important policy.

This follows the announcement on March 9, 20221, that the U.S. Department of Justice dropped its legal defense of the Trump Administration’s proposed public charge rule. Read more about that important victory here.

If you work with immigrant communities or have an opportunity to share this news within your networks, please consider visiting the Protecting Immigrant Families’ website where they have developed and shared many helpful documents, resources, and flyers about this new rule.