Public Charge Rule is the Latest Act of Cruelty Toward Immigrants of Color

The Trump administration published a final regulation that vastly expands the number of immigrants who may be deemed ineligible for lawful permanent residence based on their use of Medicaid and other government services, household income, and other criteria.

Below is a statement from National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health Executive Director Jessica González-Rojas:

WASHINGTON —  “El Paso, the ICE raids and now the public charge final rule—it could not be clearer that white nationalists are terrorizing our immigrant communities and driving White House policies to make life unbearable for hard-working black and brown immigrant families in this country. Make no mistake—the public charge rule is a litmus test to say if you’re not wealthy and white, you are not welcome here.

The goal of this ruling is to instill fear among immigrants and to stigmatize the use of government services, including Medicaid, which helps ensure people get essential preventative care. It provides a cruel vision of a United States that lends no helping hand. It takes us back to our dark history of excluding people of color from our immigration system. And it serves no one. None of us are better off if we have immigrant families living in a constant state of fear and stress. None of us are better off if we have health care costs rising as more people turn to emergency care as a desperate last resort.

Now more than ever we must redouble our efforts to mobilize and organize to stop these attacks against our community. We must fight back like our lives depend on it, because quite frankly they do.”

For more information on NLIRH’s fight for health, dignity and justice, visit us at latinainstitute.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @NLIRH.

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The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is the only national reproductive justice organization dedicated to building Latina power to advance health, dignity, and justice for 29 million Latinas, their families, and communities in the United States through leadership development, community mobilization, policy advocacy, and strategic communications.