|
Reject Racism and Xenophobia: Fight Back Against Trump's 'Public Charge' Rule
|
|
 |
While the Trump administration's proposed change to public charge would radically alter how the determination is made, it being motivated by racism and xenophobia is nothing new.
First the Irish, then the Chinese, and later Jewish refugees, public charge policies have
long been used
to exclude certain groups of immigrants. On the surface, the "likely to become a public charge" clause appears to be poverty-based immigration control. In practice however, the ambiguity of "likely" leaves much up to interpretation; making room for religious, ethnic, and racial prejudice in immigration decisions.
This newly proposed policy aims to revive broad application of the public charge determination, by redefining "public charge" to describe a person who receives one or more public benefits. This, along with stricter standards for personal factors (age, health, income, etc.), will dramatically expand the discretion immigration officials have--inviting more bias into the process. But what will have the largest impact on communities is the "chilling effect" of this policy--the fear and confusion that drives large scale disenrollment from public programs. At this time in history, the direct and indirect effects of the proposed rule would disproportionately affect immigrants from Latin American countries.
According to estimates from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, in partnership with CFPA, a total of 860,000 Californians could potentially disenroll from CalFresh if this rule is enacted. Of this population, 75 percent are children and 92 percent are Latino.
These racial disparities are no accident. Rather, they are the intention.
We have to fight back.
Take advantage of this opportunity for direct communication with the administration. Tell the Department of Homeland Security that you oppose policies that deepen racial disparities in access to food, housing, and healthcare. Don't let Trump's use of fear to weaken and divide us succeed.
Submit your comment today!
CFPA is working with a multi-sector coalition of immigrants rights, health care, anti-poverty, and anti-hunger advocates who are dedicated to stopping this proposed rule from becoming law. The
Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition has the goal of submitting 100,000 unique comments to the
Federal Register to reflect the outrage felt by millions of Americans who recognize immigrants' well-being as integral to the health and prosperity of this country.
Under federal law, the Trump administration is required to read and respond to
every unique comment before it can finalize its harmful regulation.
Regulatory commenting is not lobbying, so even organizations restricted from certain advocacy activities can voice their opposition.
By adding your comment you strengthen our political power in this fight.
Comments are due on or before December 10.
Submit Your Comment
Here.
Download our template comments
Here.
California cannot prosper if our immigrant neighbors are afraid to get the help they need to stay healthy and raise children who thrive.
Join us in speaking out and fighting back!
Together, we can protect immigrant families and
secure a brighter future for California and our country.
|
|
|
|
Researchers, Advocates Gather for Public Charge Seminar
"How Proposed Changes to the Public Charge Rule Will Affect Health, Hunger and the Economy in California"
|
On November 7,
Ninez A. Ponce, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research;
Laurel Lucia; director of the health care program at the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education; and
Tia Shimada, director of programs at California Food Policy Advocates, held a seminar to preview a forthcoming report and share estimates of the health and economic impact the proposed Public Charge rule change will have on California and its regions.
If you were not able to join us last week, v
ideo and slides from the seminar are available here.
Stay tuned for the release of the full report in early December.
|
|
|
|
|
