The “public charge” rule proposed by the Trump administration on October 10 will block immigrant families from having a permanent, secure future in the United States and scare them away from seeking access to health care, nutrition, and housing programs.
The proposal would prevent immigrants from using the programs their tax dollars help support. Because one in four American children have at least one immigrant parent, this could impact millions. It would make us a sicker, poorer, and hungrier nation.
Take Action
Before Trump’s “public charge” rule can be finalized, the administration is required by law to review and respond to every unique public comment they receive about the proposed regulation on or before December 10.
Housing Action Illinois is part of a state and national campaign, Protecting Immigrant Families, opposing this cruel attack. We are all working together to flood the Department of Homeland Security with comments opposing the proposed rule. The goal of our efforts is to have the proposed rule never be finalized.
We have made it easy for housing advocates, both organizations and individuals, to speak up by drafting templates for comments from different perspectives. Click on one of the links below to download one of the following sample templates as Word document.
- Homeless Service Providers
- Affordable Housing Developers
- Housing Counselors
- Public Housing Authorities
- Fair Housing Organizations
- Policy Advocates and Legal Service Providers
- Community-Based Organizations
- Concerned Individuals
Once you have downloaded the template and composed your own message, click the button below, and we will direct you to a page for the public charge rule where you can submit a comment.
Please join us in telling the Trump administration that our lives should be defined by how we contribute to our communities, not by what we look like or how much money we have. We only have until December 10 to submit comments, so please respond today!
Learn More
This proposed regulation which would dramatically broaden the “public charge” test that has been a part of federal immigration law for decades. This test has been used to identify people who may depend on government benefits as their main source of financial support; that person can be refused permission to enter the U.S. and refused a green card. Under the current policy, the only government benefits taken into account are cash-assistance programs (including Supplemental Security Income and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and government-funded, long-term institutional care.