{"id":346506,"date":"2026-09-14T17:34:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T17:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346506\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T17:34:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T17:34:13","slug":"new-york-city-leads-cities-and-counties-in-lawsuit-challenging-federal-governments-new-public-charge-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346506\/","title":{"rendered":"New York City Leads Cities and Counties in Lawsuit Challenging Federal Government\u2019s New Public Charge Rule"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK\u00a0\u2014 Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced that New York City, alongside the City of Chicago, the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Santa Clara, the City of Seattle, King County, Washington and the Public Rights Project, filed a lawsuit<\/a> challenging the federal government\u2019s new public charge rule.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, comes alongside a separate legal challenge led by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. New York is being joined by states, cities, counties and the Public Rights Project across the country in challenging the federal government\u2019s attempt to deny green cards and visas to immigrants based on their use of means-tested, or income-based, local, state, and federal public benefits, without clear definitions or meaningful guardrails. The rule is the latest in the federal government\u2019s relentless assault on immigrant families and their ability to live and work in the cities they call home. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0

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\n\u201cThe new public charge rule\u00a0seeks\u00a0to push immigrant families away from the programs that have kept people fed and healthy for decades. New Yorkers will be afraid to see a doctor or ask for help they are legally entitled to. That fear will not stop at the families that the federal government is targeting. Families who\u00a0remain\u00a0fully eligible for benefits will feel a chilling effect, and all New Yorkers will pay for it,\u201d\u00a0said Mayor Mamdani. \u201cNew York City is proud to lead a coalition of cities and counties \u2014 Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Clara County, Seattle, King\u00a0County\u00a0and the Public Rights Project \u2014 standing firmly against this cruel and unlawful rule. Our immigrant communities are not a burden. They are the people who make New York City and country great. We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure they can continue to live here with dignity and without fear.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0

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\nIn its lawsuit, the coalition argues that the new public charge rule sweeps aside more than a century of settled law, as well as decades of federal guidance\u00a0establishing\u00a0clear limits on how public charge determinations can be made. Instead, the new rule dramatically and unlawfully expands the government\u2019s authority to consider an immigrant\u2019s use of public benefits, allowing the federal government to consider virtually any means-tested or income-based public benefits while inviting officers to make decisions that are inconsistent and discriminatory. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0federal government has again targeted our immigrant communities with an extremely harmful new federal public charge rule,\u201d said\u00a0New York City Corporation Counsel Steve Banks.\u00a0\u201cThis new rule sweeps away more than a century of settled law to unlawfully broaden the definition of \u2018public charge\u2019 in a way that Congress never intended. No immigrant New Yorker should have to choose between their immigration status and benefits for which they are legally eligible.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government\u2019s changes to the public charge rule are creating fear and confusion among immigrant communities, which may keep families from accessing public benefits and services that help keep them healthy and safe,\u201d said\u00a0MOIA Commissioner Faiza N. Ali. \u201cNo one should have to choose between their family\u2019s wellbeing and their future in this country. As New York City and municipalities across the country challenge these changes in court, the Mayor\u2019s Office of Immigrant Affairs will continue making sure immigrant New Yorkers know their rights, know where to turn to for help and can access trusted legal support.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChicago will not stand by while the federal government forces immigrant families to choose between putting food on the table, taking their children to the doctor, or protecting their ability to remain in this country. This rule is not only cruel,\u00a0it is\u00a0unlawful, and it threatens the health and safety of our entire city,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMore than half a million Chicagoans were born outside the United States. They are our neighbors and an essential part of who we are. Chicago has fought these attacks before, and, alongside New York and cities across the country, we will fight them again. We will use every tool available to protect our immigrant communities and defend their right to live with dignity and without fear.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting help when you need it is not the same as being dependent on the government,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Toby Merrill,\u00a0Litigation Director at Public Rights Project.\u00a0\u201cBut this administration is trying to blur that line to make it harder for immigrant families to access basic services. That will hurt families and entire communities, while leaving local governments to deal with the public health and financial consequences. DHS cannot rewrite the law to push essential services out of reach.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSeattle is joining this lawsuit to stand up for our values and the rule of law. Seattle is a place where people seeking opportunity can earn prosperity through\u00a0hard work. Needing a little help along the way should never be used against someone in an immigration context,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans.\u00a0\u201cI promised to stand up with urgency and courage for Seattle, and\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0exactly what this lawsuit does. Seattle joins New York City, King\u00a0County\u00a0and other\u00a0jurisdictions\u00a0to fight to uphold our values.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis latest unlawful immigration action by the Trump administration is a humanitarian disaster,\u201d said\u00a0King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion. \u201cAs the daughter of an immigrant, I never thought I would see a day where our federal government would target immigrants who are legally establishing their status \u2013 all while working, paying taxes, and contributing to the vibrancy of our community \u2013 simply for using any public program for any amount. The King County Prosecuting Attorney\u2019s Office will fight this federal rule in court with every resource available.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis rule forces people to make an impossible choice between a future in our country or their health and well-being,\u201d said\u00a0San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu. \u201cIt is a blatant attempt to sow fear and confusion in our immigrant communities and coerce people into withdrawing from critical government services. We will all bear the cost of this misguided policy, which will shift millions of dollars in costs onto San Francisco. We will always welcome immigrants from all backgrounds and fight any attempts to institute a wealth test for citizenship.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trump Administration\u2019s illegal public charge rule flies in the face of more than a hundred years of law and history and decades of federal guidance\u2014and we will not tolerate the harms it imposes on our residents,\u201d said\u00a0Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti.\u00a0\u201cThis is a deliberate attack against families, designed to bully them into dropping health insurance and delaying medical care, forgoing food assistance, and avoiding other critical services out of fear that accepting these essential but supplemental supports will jeopardize their immigration status. It is legally wrong and morally bankrupt to force families to make the impossible choice between protecting their health and protecting their future. We will continue to stand up in court for dignity and opportunity for all.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trump Administration wants to force millions of people nationwide \u2013 including potentially several thousand of King County residents \u2013 to choose between food, housing, healthcare, and other services on the one hand, and pathways to citizenships on the other but we won\u2019t let them,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Girmay Zahilay, King County Executive in Washington State.\u00a0\u201cWe are proud to join this coalition of governments, including our partners at the City of Seattle and New York City, to fight back on behalf of our communities.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This\u00a0new rule is designed to create fear.\u00a0It will have a massive chilling effect across immigrant communities, discouraging New Yorkers from accessing benefits and services for which they or their family members are legally eligible \u2013 including many people who are not subject to the rule at all.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new Public Charge Rule is expected to go into effect on September 18. New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, can call the MOIA\u2019s Immigration Legal Support Hotline at 1-800-354-0365 or 311 and say \u201cImmigration Legal\u201d to get connected to free,\u00a0safe\u00a0and confidential immigration legal\u00a0assistance\u00a0in their preferred language.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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