On September 14, 2026, 22 states and the District of Columbia, led by New York, California and Illinois, sued the Department of Homeland Security to stop a new “public charge” rule. Six local governments, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Clara County and King County, filed a parallel suit. Both cases are in federal court in Manhattan, and neither had an assigned judge as of that afternoon.
The rule, published in the Federal Register on July 20, takes effect September 18. It removes most of the provisions of the 2022 public charge regulations and directs that, in deciding whether an applicant for admission or a green card is likely to become dependent on the government, officers will “consider the receipt of any means tested public benefits on or after that date.” DHS's own analysis estimates that the rule could reduce federal and state transfer payments by about $13.05 billion a year “due to disenrollment or forgone enrollment in public benefits programs by members of households that include aliens.” About 588,000 applicants face public charge reviews each year, according to DHS.
The states' complaint cites the government's own figures: “Defendants estimate that nationwide, states will lose an estimated $4.05 billion in annual transfer payments from the federal government for the States' Medicaid and CHIP programs alone.” New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “Cruelty is the point (of the rule change).” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the rule is “intentionally vague as a means of creating uncertainty and fear.”
DHS has described the policy as promoting “self-reliance, protecting public resources, and ending policies that encouraged dependency on hard-working American taxpayers.” Responding to the suits, a spokesperson said, “We're shaking in our boots over this supposedly terrible outcome.” No court has ruled.