The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) yesterday organized a city-wide Day of Action near multiple immigrant neighborhoods throughout Brooklyn and the five boroughs, including one in Sunset Park, with the goal of informing immigrants about the Trump Administration’s proposed “public charge” rule change.
Under current law, immigrants applying for entry into the United States or for lawful permanent residency can be denied and labeled a “public charge” for participating or being seen as likely to participate in various federal, state or local cash assistance programs, or for receiving long term institutional care.
However, the federal government’s new guidance — which does not apply to refugees, those seeking asylum or those granted asylum — would significantly expand the criteria for who can be labeled a “public charge” to include immigrants who participate or are seen as likely to participate in federal public benefit programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid or Section 8 housing assistance.
In September 2018, the Department of Homeland Security issued its proposal to significantly broaden the criteria it could use to label an immigrant applying for legal residency as a “public charge.” The proposed rule change was published in the Federal Register in October 2018.
However, the rule only applies to some immigrants, a group which MOIA claims are very small. The goal of the Day of Action was to encourage immigrants to call the city’s “Action NYC” hotline, where they could find out whether the rule affects them or not. That way, there would be no unnecessary avoidance of or unenrollment from public benefits.
Around 10 volunteers near Sunset Park’s C-Town and Key Foods handed out double-sided flyers, with text in English on one side and in Spanish on another. MOIA chose supermarkets as they are locations at which immigrants use EBT cards and picked Sunday, due to it being a high-traffic day for grocery shopping.
“We don’t want people to unnecessarily disenroll from public benefits out of fear,” said Deputy Commissioner, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs May Malik. Most immigrants, including those seeking naturalization, are not subject to the rule change and wouldn’t gain from unenrolling from government benefits.
“The “public charge” test only applies to certain immigrants. In general, green card holders are not subject to the “public charge” test, although there may be exceptions. Refugees, asylees, U or T visa holders, VAWA self-petitioners, Special Immigrant Juveniles, and those with certain other statuses are generally not subject to the “public charge” test, or can apply for a waiver from the test,” reads MOIA’s website.
The “Day of Action” also included other immigrant-heavy locations, such as Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, Parkchester in The Bronx or Flushing in Queens, at which MOIA volunteers were present near grocery stores.
“We have MOIA staff and volunteers at multiple other locations so that we can connect with immigrant New Yorkers, make sure that they’re aware with what’s happening on public charge. But just on a high level letting them know that ‘the city stands with you, we have immigration legal services support that is free and confidential and that’s ready at your disposal to connect with you, to answer any questions that you have’,” adds Malik.
The flyers handed out by volunteers noted that the public charge changes won’t go into effect until October 15 and may still be blocked in court, as well as that the changes do not affect any eligibility rules for public benefits and programs. On top, it urges anyone worries about the rule to call the City-funded Action NYC hotline at 1-800-354-0365. The hotline can also be reached by dialing 311 and saying “Action NYC”.
