The Trump Administration’s Public Charge Rule is An Anti-Immigrant Attack
By Larissa Vasquez
The Trump-Pence administration’s recently proposed public charge rule is an attack on immigrant communities, and as a community health educator, I’m already seeing the impact in NYC.
I oversee Planned Parenthood of New York City’s Promotores de Salud program. The Promotores de Salud (Promotores) are trained peer advocates and educators who aim to increase access to sexual and reproductive health services for Spanish-dominant Latinxs in New York City, integrating information about health topics and the health care system into their community’s culture, language, and value system. Promotores are trusted leaders in their communities and provide culturally competent outreach and education workshops on a variety of health topics.
This summer, while providing medical interpretation on our Mobile Medical Unit, our staff saw a patient who was very hesitant to be referred to the public hospital system for cancer follow-up because of what she had seen on the news about the Trump-Pence administration’s proposed public charge rule.
The patient is undocumented and was afraid that if she accesses any public services, including basic health care, it would compromise her eligibility to apply for a visa or green card. We know that the earlier cancer is detected the better the odds are for patients. However, the fear of becoming a public charge became another obstacle for her to navigate. And she is not alone. Many members of immigrant communities have already expressed similar concerns.
The proposed changes to public charge are another attack by the Trump-Pence administration on immigrant communities around the country. If enacted, the rules could harm more than 475,000 immigrants in New York City. Of those, more than 75,000 immigrant New Yorkers would be forced to decide between accessing public benefits such as Medicaid or obtaining their green card. Even permanent residents or citizens living in immigrant families may be afraid to access services and benefits because they fear that a family member’s immigration status may be jeopardized.
The proposed rules greatly expand the scope of government benefits considered when determining who is a public charge. The proposed changes would include Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), public housing and Section 8 housing assistance vouchers, and low-income subsidies for prescriptions for Medicare beneficiaries. These changes would force thousands of immigrant New Yorkers, including legal permanent residents who are not subjected to the public charge test, to withdraw from public benefits due to fear and misinformation of who is impacted by the rule and how it affects them or their families.
As a trusted health care provider, PPNYC see firsthand the challenges and barriers immigrant New Yorkers face when accessing care. Immigrant New Yorkers make up 37% of our city’s population, yet are less likely to be insured and receive routine preventive care than other New Yorkers. The enactment of the proposed changes to the public charge rule would further restrict the options individuals have when attempting to access care and resources for their families.
More broadly, the proposed rule on public charge would impact the existing public health crisis and exacerbate problems like food security, lack of affordable housing, and jeopardize educational attainment. Additionally, individuals may avoid needed care such as vaccines for communicable diseases which can increase the chances of an outbreak.
While these federal attacks will continue, it is important that New York City ensure that all people have access to the best health care for themselves and their families. Health care is a human right, and we must create communities where all people can be healthy and empowered.
