Federal Policy

The Supreme Court has declined to consider litigation (Texas, et al. v. Cook County, IL, et al.) by Texas and 13 other states concerning the Trump Administration’s “public charge” immigration regulations on January 9, 2023. This ruling ends a bid to revisit a 2020 ruling by a federal trial court in Illinois invalidating (“vacating”) Trump Administration public charge regulations as unlawful.

The Texas petition that was the subject of the procedural decision by the Supreme Court did not challenge the Biden Administration’s 2022 public charge regulation. On January 5, Texas filed a separate lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s final public charge rule that took effect on December 23, 2022. That lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The filing of this new January 5th lawsuit does not change immigration policy. The Biden public charge rule is still in effect and immigrants and their family members can use health care, nutrition, housing and other public benefits that are not cash assistance for income maintenance or long term institutionalization at government expense without fear of immigration consequences.

You can review the Protecting Immigrant Families California coalition statement over SCUTOS decision HERE. 

On Friday, December 9, the federal Department of Health & Human Services approved Washington’s section 1332 waiver to allow residents to purchase qualified health plans and standalone qualified dental plans through Washington Healthplanfinder regardless of immigration status, beginning January 1, 2024. Additionally, uninsured individuals whose income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty level will be able to access state-funded subsidies (which lower an individual’s premium costs), known as Cascade Care Savings, also without regard to immigration status. See more here.

The US Citizenship Act 2021 (H.R. 1177)

Introduced by Representative Linda Sanchez (D-CA) in February 2021, this bill establishes a path to citizenship for certain undocumented individuals, among a number of other items. Please see here for more information including summary, where it is in process, as well as an identical Senate version of the bill (S.348).

Biden Administration

In the leadup to President Biden’s inauguration, experts speculated on the policy changes the new administration would enact — and how quickly. On February 2, less than two weeks after taking office, President Biden signed three executive orders impacting immigration policy. The executive orders mandated the following:

  1. Creation of a task force for reunifying families. This task force will locate parents or guardians of the thousands of children who were separated from their families under the Trump administration. It will also regularly report on its progress beginning 120 days after the signing of this executive order.
  2. Restoration of the asylum system. Under the Trump administration, the process for seeking and gaining asylum became so arduous that many refugees were forced to wait in Mexico while they sought asylum. This resulted in what many have called a humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. Biden’s order seeks to restore a more humane asylum process.
  3. Review of the public charge rule. Immigration agencies have been instructed to look at this rule from the perspective of the new administration, which seeks to create a more inclusive system. On September 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security finalized a new public charge rule, replacing a Trump-era law that significantly narrowed the definition of who is allowed permanent residency in the U.S. This is huge win for immigrants and advocates, and it is now safe for immigrants to receive public benefits without fear of a public charge test.

These executive orders follow those signed on President Biden’s first day in office, when he reversed many of former President Trump’s policies, including:

  • Revoking travel restrictions from majority Muslim countries and other nations  by the Trump administration. However, the security screening procedures for such travelers remain in place for the moment.
  • Pausing deportations for 100 days for most immigrants (starting on January 22), except for those that engage in terrorism, commit crimes, pose a threat to national security, or arrived in the U.S. after November 1, 2020. In the midst of a pandemic, this moratorium on deportations will prevent unnecessary movement and allow immigration agencies to focus resources on reuniting families and fighting COVID-19 in detention centers.
  • Stopping border wall construction and rescinding $10 billion in funding that the previous president diverted for wall construction. Biden is expected to abandon the border wall in order to focus border security efforts and funding elsewhere, such as on funding health and safety initiatives within immigration agencies.
  • Fortifying the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, which currently protects about 650,000 “Dreamers,” as members of the program are known. Additional support for or expansion of the program may be included in Biden’s proposed reform bill.
  • Ending the “Remain in Mexico” border program that required immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. to reside in Mexico while waiting for hearings and decisions. Moving forward, no new asylum seekers will be placed in the program. However, those currently placed in the program will not be moved out of it.
  • Halting use of the dehumanizing and pejorative term “illegal alien” and replacing it with “noncitizen,” a move perceived by many as an attempt to inject dignity and decency into immigration policy.

On June 16, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland followed Biden’s EO on the restoration of the asylum system with an order reversing two decisions made by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2018. This means that, until new regulations are enacted, immigration judges can grant asylum too individuals based on threats of domestic abuse or violence from gangs.

Taken together, these actions represent a marked shift in the approach to immigration policy, as well as to the health and safety of migrants. This shift may significantly reduce stress and fear of deportation in immigrant communities (a social determinant of health that has consistently been shown to negatively impact health and contribute to ongoing health problems).

Reviewed on 01/10/2023