Biden moves to open up public benefits to illegal immigrants

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In its latest effort to “remove barriers” to immigration, the Department of Homeland Security is finalizing the long-awaited public charge rule , codifying a weak standard that upends congressional intent, decades of precedent, and the core American value of self-reliance.

For more than 30 years, temporary guidance governed our understanding and administration of the public charge doctrine. This narrow interpretation was merely a placeholder for final regulations. When the only meaningful reforms were made to the doctrine during the Trump administration, liberal activist courts invalidated the rules to gut this commonsense requirement.

The Biden administration has seized on that to issue a weak rule that undermines Congress’ intent on the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Under its new rule, only the receipt of cash benefits or long-term institutional care could trigger a public charge finding.

The rule ignores the myriad medical, housing, educational, and other public benefits routinely doled out by federal, state, local, and tribal agencies. And, more importantly, it ignores the tremendous cost of those benefits to the government and to the American taxpayer.

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