Public charge revival denied again by Ninth Circuit.
April 12, 2021
On Thursday, a split Ninth Circuit denied a bid by Republican attorney generals to revive the public charge rule. However, opposing Judge VanDyke slammed the Biden administration for terminating the public charge rule “with extreme prejudice” in a sharp dissent. Van Dyke maintained that the panel erroneously blocked a bid led by a coalition of states trying to defend the Trump-era immigration wealth test. The Ninth Circuit’s decision marks an end for the Department of Homeland Security policy announced in August 2019 that aimed to expand the meaning of public charge, thus making it more difficult for immigrants who use public benefits, such as food stamps or Medicaid, to qualify for a green card.