Advocates continue to expect the Trump administration to issue proposed “public charge” rules. A leaked draft earlier this year changes the definition of when a legal immigrant (and their families) are considered a “public charge” to the government—impacting their qualification for permanent resident status.

But even without proposed rules, fear within the immigrant community is building—with various providers reporting families declining or dropping benefits, including WIC (Women, Infant & Children), food stamps and health care coverage, and avoiding doctor appointments. Seattle’s community health centers are experiencing the same trend that has extended across the country. These potential rules would have disastrous consequences on immigrant families in the United States, many of whom have citizen children enrolled in important public health care programs like Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program. The Exchange marketplace could also experience declining enrollment and premium increases if healthy legal immigrants drop coverage. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that 27 million immigrants and their children are part of families with at least one member receiving public benefits. They also estimate over 244,800 Washington residents could be considered “public charges” under the leaked proposed rules. Additional resources are available from the Protecting Immigrant Families – WA Campaign.

An op-ed from Stephen Miller’s uncle, David S. Glosser, points out the hypocrisy of this potential change in policy. New research on legal permanent residents in California finds that the vast majority of public program enrollees are US citizens. Among California’s population living below 200 percent of federal poverty level, non-citizens are less reliant on public programs compared to US-born citizens.