New Public Charge Rule Threatens Health of Texas Families and Children
On Thursday, July 16, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new public charge rule that will go into effect on September 18, 2026. As explained in public comments submitted to the Department of Homeland Security in December 2026, Children’s Defense Fund-Texas, Every Texan, and other Seguro Texas coalition partners strongly oppose this rule as an attack on lawful immigrants and U.S. citizens in immigrant families, including children.
Chilling Effects of the Finalized Rule
The new regulations will create fear and confusion that keep eligible children in mixed status families from accessing the health care, nutrition assistance, and other resources they need to thrive, even though they are entitled to these benefits under law. 11.4% of all U.S. citizen children in Texas live with at least one undocumented parent, and 34% of all Texas children have at least one immigrant parent (including parents who are refugees, Lawful Permanent Residents, and naturalized U.S. citizens). Because this policy change makes it less likely that immigrants and their U.S. citizen family members will enroll in public benefits programs, it will produce a chilling effect in Texas on applications for and enrollments in public programs like Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), SNAP food stamps, supports through the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, and more.
When mixed status families (households that include individuals with different immigration statuses) disenroll their eligible family members from public benefits programs, or avoid seeking support through those programs in the first place, local healthcare, food, and education systems suffer as communities experience a rise in food insecurity, unemployment, and rates of being uninsured. This finalized rule will harm not only immigrants and their families, but all community members who use local hospitals, health centers, schools, food pantries, and other community support programs.
What is public charge?
When a person applies for a visa from outside the U.S. or for Lawful Permanent Resident status (often referred to as a “green card”) through certain immigration pathways, an immigration officer evaluating their application will apply the “public charge” test to determine whether the applicant is likely at any time to become primarily dependent on the government to support them. Anyone deemed likely to become a public charge will have their green card or visa application denied. The new DHS rule will apply to green card applications made inside the United States on or after September 18, 2026.
How does the new rule change the public charge test?
Under the 2022 rule (which remains in effect until September 18), the only public benefits use that an immigration officer could consider under the public charge test is the applicant’s past receipt of cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization at government expense. However, the new rule removes regulations that limit the kinds of public benefits that can be considered by an immigration officer under the public charge rule, and it eliminates regulatory language specifying that benefits received by an applicant’s family members will not be considered in the public charge determination. These removals of guidance create a lack of clarity about which benefits are safe for immigrants to use and whether or how a family member’s use of benefits could be counted against an applicant in the future.
A person’s use of public benefits is only one factor considered under the public charge test, and immigration officers will still consider factors such as the applicant’s age, income, education, skills, employment, health, and any affidavit of support. However, the new rule also allows immigration officers to use their own discretion to consider other factors, too, and they are no longer required to treat an affidavit of support as a positive factor. This broad discretion opens the door to arbitrary or biased public charge evaluations.
The preamble to the finalized rule indicates that before September 18, DHS will issue more specific guidance on outstanding questions brought up by the finalized rule. We will keep in touch via listserv and meetings when DHS releases that guidance.
What do impacted families need to know?
The new rule does not go into effect until September 18, 2026. This means that the new public charge rule will only be applied to green card applications submitted on or after that date. However, it is unclear whether the use of public benefits beyond cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization between now and September 18 may potentially be considered when those applications are processed.
The new rule does not change the categories of immigrants that the public charge test applies to, and most immigrants do not have to worry about public charge at all. U.S. citizens, people granted various kinds of humanitarian protection, those without a pathway to lawful permanent resident status, and individuals who already have a green card (except in limited circumstances such as returning to the U.S. with certain criminal history or after spending more than 180 days abroad) are not affected by the new rule.
In the meantime, immigrants should consult with a knowledgeable immigration attorney before leaving the country or applying for a green card.
When making decisions about accessing public benefits, it’s important for immigrants and their families to stay connected to local, community-based organizations for further guidance and support.
However, everyone’s situation is different, so everyone must do what is best for themselves and their family based on their individual circumstances.
Advocates are continuing to try to stop this rule through legislation or litigation. Seguro Texas and partners will update the community as we learn more. To join the Seguro Texas listserv, email Brittney Taylor-Ross at [email protected].
For more information and resources about the new public charge rule from the Protecting Immigrant Families coalition, please visit https://pifcoalition.org/publiccharge. Materials from Seguro Texas are forthcoming.
This blog post is intended to provide general information and is not a substitute for legal advice.
Authors: Trudy Taylor Smith, Senior Administrator of Policy and Advocacy, Children’s Defense Fund-Texas; Lynn Cowles, Director of Health and Food Justice, Every Texan
For follow-up, contact Lynn at 512-522-3220 / [email protected]