A Trump-era immigration rule denying green cards to immigrants using public benefits as food stamps received likely fatal blows on Tuesday after the Biden government abandoned legal challenges, including before the Supreme Court.
Continuing to uphold the rule “is not in the public interest or an efficient use of limited government resources,” the United States Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
The Federal Supreme Court will not rule on the legality of the so-called public collection rule because of an agreement between the Biden government and the parties and states that are contesting it. The Department of Justice also dropped objections to a decision before the United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the November order of a federal judge overturning the rule across the country.
The changes were the most recent result of the Biden administration’s effort to undo the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The new government recently dismissed the appeals of the high court over former President Trump’s effort to deny funding to so-called sanctuary communities.
Judges, at the government’s request, also postponed cases they had agreed to hear about financing parts of the wall along the border with Mexico and the policy of forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their hearings.
Defenders of immigrants’ rights celebrated Tuesday’s lawsuit over the public prosecution rule, after years of complex legal battles in several states.
Although the Trump administration first praised the proposed rule in 2018 as a way to ensure that only those who are self-sufficient come to the U.S., immigrant rights advocates said it was a “test of wealth” and health experts. public said they would lead to poor health outcomes.
“After four years of fighting the rule, since the first time it was officially announced, it is officially dead,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council.
In late February, the upper court agreed to hear an appeal from the Trump administration, first filed last year, against a lower court decision against the public prosecution rule. The policy allows denial of permanent residence status for immigrants due to the use of food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers or other public benefits. The judges agreed to hear the case, even when President Biden called for a “top-down” review of the rule.
On Tuesday, however, the Biden government withdrew the appeal, saying that all parties involved had agreed to close the case.
The government has taken similar measures before the Chicago appeals court. Following the decision by US District Judge Gary Feinerman to annul the rule on the eve of the election, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services stopped applying it to all pending requirements and petitions across the country. But he changed course on election day after the federal appeals court allowed the rule to be reinstated while considering the case.
Groups of immigrants who oppose the policy said Tuesday’s deal paved the way “that this illegal rule is no longer enforced”.
Previously, the Supreme Court split 5-4 over allowing the policy to take effect while the legal challenge continued. This legal challenge involved New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New York and several organizations.
“We dismissed this case and restored the injunction that ensures that those living in New York and other states do not have to choose between their immigration status and obtain the support they need to survive,” New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James said in a statement. “Quite simply, today, fewer children will go hungry and more families will have the medical care they desperately need.”
According to Trump’s administration policy, green card candidates had to show that they would not be a burden on the country or “public burdens”.
Federal law already required those seeking permanent residence or legal status to prove that they would not be a “public charge”. But Trump’s administration rule included a broader range of programs that could disqualify them.