{"id":234271,"date":"2026-03-24T16:05:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/234271\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T16:05:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:05:16","slug":"californias-immigrant-families-fear-losing-benefits-amid-public-charge-confusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/234271\/","title":{"rendered":"California’s immigrant families fear losing benefits amid public charge confusion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Children<\/a>Children hold signs calling for the unification of separated immigrant families in 2020. (File photo by Chris Stone\/Times of San Diego)<\/p>\n

This article first appeared in EdSource<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Growing fears about\u00a0aggressive immigration enforcement tactics<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and confusion over federal \u201cpublic charge\u201d rules that can affect green card and visa applications \u2014 are prompting some California families to retreat from child care and early education programs, even when their children qualify.<\/p>\n

Under federal immigration law, officials can deny green card and visa applications if they determine the applicant is likely to rely heavily on government assistance. Although many benefits cannot be considered for purposes of the \u201cpublic charge\u201d rule, advocates say many families avoid social service programs altogether out of an abundance of caution.<\/p>\n

Changes proposed<\/a>\u00a0in November by the current administration would repeal a 2022 rule that advocates say provided significant clarity on when the rule applies. During the previous Trump administration, the government made\u00a0changes that widened<\/a>\u00a0what could be considered \u201cpublic charge.\u201d Even after those changes were rescinded, fears persist.<\/p>\n

Advocates say the fear and confusion that are already impacting families could be far-reaching for a state like California, where it is estimated that nearly 1.1 million children have at least one parent who is undocumented, according to the\u00a0National Center for Children in Poverty<\/a>. More than half of those children are U.S. citizens and over 250,000 under the age of 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith public charge there\u2019s a level of anxiety around signing up for public benefit programs, submitting information, and\/or scrutiny that may be increased and make people uncomfortable because of whatever the public rhetoric may be or the perception that it creates risk,\u201d said Stacy Lee, chief learning officer and senior managing director of early childhood at the nonprofit Children Now.<\/p>\n

She noted that many child care providers are uniquely positioned to support families because they are not only aware of the impact of immigration raids, but many have also developed trust with immigrant families who might be confused about proposed policy changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when I was representing clients as an immigration attorney and I would tell them 100% that I was sure they were not going to be affected, that their case was exempt from public charge, sometimes they just still wouldn\u2019t [enroll in public programs] because the fear is so severe,\u201d said Liza Davis, advocacy director at The Children\u2019s Partnership.<\/p>\n

What is a \u2018public charge\u2019?<\/p>\n

When some types of immigration applications are reviewed, officials might apply the \u201cpublic charge test\u201d to determine the applicant\u2019s likelihood of relying excessively on public assistance. This rule was first introduced in the 19th century. Immigration rights advocates say misinformation and administrative changes to how the test is applied \u2014 with the most recent changes proposed late 2025 \u2014 cause confusion and fears of being labeled public charges, even when the applicant or their children might be eligible for benefits, such as child care and health care.<\/p>\n

While public charge does not apply to U.S. citizen children and affects only specific types of immigration cases, many families, including those with mixed citizenship status, still withdraw from public benefits programs out of fear that participation would jeopardize their residency or protection from deportation, advocates say.<\/p>\n

What is the current policy on \u2018public charge\u2019?<\/p>\n

The\u00a0current policy<\/a>\u00a0affirms that the public charge test is used only in specific immigration cases and does not apply to a\u00a0wide range<\/a>\u00a0of people, including asylum seekers, U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrants and lawful permanent residents applying for citizenship.<\/p>\n

\u201cA public charge only shows up when you are an individual that is submitting an application for a very specific form of relief, which a lot of people don\u2019t qualify for,\u201d Davis confirmed.<\/p>\n

Additionally, only\u00a0specific uses<\/a>\u00a0of certain benefit programs are considered.<\/p>\n

Depending on a person\u2019s specific immigration situation, cash assistance programs like CalWORKS could be considered for public charge tests. CalWORKs is California\u2019s version of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which many families rely on for benefits such as child care, stable access to food and other basic necessities, like diapers.<\/p>\n

Davis encourages families to seek accurate information and assistance. She says concerns about public charge often spread by word-of-mouth among applicants who may be comparing cases without properly accounting for the complexity of the immigration system, which includes many different types of applications with varying rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not able to anticipate what will happen in a different administration, but if this need is absolutely essential for you and you qualify for it right now, then you should really consider taking the help because it\u2019s so important to the well-being of the children in your household,\u201d Davis said she advises families.<\/p>\n

Further exacerbating the issue is the lack of definitive certainty on whether and when rules related to public charge may change.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic charge has just been historically weaponized,\u201d and different federal administrations have either made or proposed changes, leaving a sense of instability,\u201d said Davis. \u201cThe ebb and flow, the unknown of it, and the fact that we can\u2019t say \u2018this is not going to change\u2019 \u2014 there is no guarantee.\u201d<\/p>\n

How child care providers can support immigrant families with young children<\/p>\n

Lee from Children Now says that home-visiting programs, which provide parenting support in a young child\u2019s home, are one way to keep families accurately informed about anticipated changes to their benefits and how they can remain connected to social services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe standout has been families who have access to home visiting have someone they can trust, that they can ask questions to,\u201d Lee said. \u201cThey can talk to their home visitor, who can explain to them what\u2019s going on, what\u2019s real, what\u2019s not real. It\u2019s hard to navigate what\u2019s actually happening versus what\u2019s just a lot of aggressive words or what\u2019s being held up in courts.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2025, about 18,200 children from over 17,000 families in California received home visiting services, according to the\u00a0National Home Visiting Resource Center<\/a>. It is estimated that nearly 2.6 million children from nearly 2 million families in the state would benefit from home visiting services.<\/p>\n

What is the latest proposed change?<\/p>\n

The latest proposed change would mostly repeal the 2022 rule clarifying when public charge applies, but does not offer regulations to replace existing rules. Advocates argue that the lack of clarity can lead families to disenroll or avoid eligible public benefits.<\/p>\n

The administration acknowledges that changes to public charge rules between 2019 and 2022, \u201cheightened fears among immigrant families about participating in programs and seeking services, such as health coverage and care.\u201d<\/p>\n

The current proposal, filed by former Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem, also recognizes the far-reaching impact of families withdrawing from public services out of fear. \u201cDHS has determined that the rule may decrease disposable income and increase the poverty of certain families and children, including U.S. citizen children. DHS continues to believe that the benefits of the action justify the financial impact on the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Resources for families<\/p>\n

Guide<\/a>\u00a0to current public charge policy, as it applies to Californians<\/p>\n

FAQ<\/a>\u00a0on what advocates should know regarding the changes proposed in November 2025.<\/p>\n

\u00a0EdSource <\/a>is California\u2019s largest independent newsroom focused on education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Children hold signs calling for the unification of separated immigrant families in 2020. (File photo by Chris Stone\/Times…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[30274,14,106091,74,76,75,1695],"class_list":{"0":"post-234271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-immigrant-families","9":"tag-immigration","10":"tag-public-charge","11":"tag-san-diego","12":"tag-san-diego-headlines","13":"tag-san-diego-news","14":"tag-trump-administration"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}