New Public Charge Policy Creates More Fear and Uncertainty for Arizona Families 

By eliminating clear standards and expanding immigration officers’ discretion, the policy could discourage eligible Arizona families from accessing food, health care and other basic supports. 

A federal immigration policy can cause harm long before an application is denied. 

Sometimes, the fear and confusion surrounding a policy are enough to make families withdraw from health coverage, food assistance and other programs that help them remain healthy and financially stable — even when they are legally eligible for those programs and the policy does not apply to them. 

That is one of the greatest risks created by the Department of Homeland Security’s new “public charge” policy, which is scheduled to take effect Sept. 18, 2026. 

Public charge is a test used in certain immigration applications to determine whether a person is likely to become dependent on government assistance in the future. Depending on the application, someone determined likely to become a public charge could be denied admission to the U.S. or lawful permanent residence, commonly called a green card. 

The final rule rescinds regulations adopted in 2022 that provided clearer standards for making those determinations. Instead of replacing them with another detailed framework, DHS is giving immigration officers broader discretion to consider an applicant’s circumstances, including the use of a wider range of means-tested public benefits. 

The policy directly applies to a relatively limited group of noncitizens, including some people applying for a green card or seeking admission to the U.S. Receiving a public benefit will not automatically result in someone being denied admission or a green card. 

But the policy’s effects are unlikely to remain limited to the people legally subject to the test. 

By removing clear standards and leaving important decisions to individual immigration officers, the new policy is likely to spread uncertainty throughout immigrant communities. That could discourage eligible Arizona families — including families with U.S. citizen children — from using health care, nutrition assistance and other programs created to help them meet basic needs. 

Arizona cannot afford another policy that suppresses participation in essential programs. Nearly 440,000 Arizonans have already lost access to SNAP since July 2025, leaving families, food banks and communities struggling with the consequences. Another federal policy that frightens eligible families away from assistance would compound that harm. 

Clear standards are being replaced with broader discretion 

Under the 2022 public charge regulations, immigration officers followed a defined framework that identified which benefits could be considered and how public charge determinations should be made. 

The new rule eliminates much of that framework. DHS argues that the 2022 regulations were too restrictive and prevented officers from fully considering whether an applicant was likely to become a public charge under federal immigration law. 

Beginning September 18, immigration officers will have broader authority to consider an applicant’s use of means-tested public benefits. DHS specifically says that previously excluded benefits such as SNAP and Medicaid should be considered, but the final rule does not provide a complete list of programs or detailed instructions for how different benefits should be weighed. USCIS is expected to address many of those questions through future guidance and officer training rather than binding regulations. 

That approach gives applicants, attorneys, and community organizations fewer clear assurances about how individual cases will be evaluated. It could also lead to inconsistent decisions depending on how individual officers exercise their discretion. 

DHS says participation in a benefit program will not, by itself, determine the outcome of a public charge assessment. Officers must still consider the totality of an applicant’s circumstances, including factors such as age, health, family status, finances, education and skills. 

Nevertheless, when families do not know what will count against an application — or how heavily it will count — the safest option may appear to be giving up assistance altogether. 

Consequences will reach far beyond those subject to the policy 

Many immigrants are not subject to a public charge determination. That includes refugees, asylees and many people with humanitarian immigration protections. The test also does not apply to U.S. citizens, people applying for citizenship or most current green card holders. 

Benefits received by a family member generally are not treated as if they were received by the immigrant applicant. There are limited circumstances in which a family member’s benefit use could become indirectly relevant to the evaluation of an applicant’s income, financial resources or legal responsibility to support that family member. 

Those distinctions are important — but they are also difficult to communicate in a climate of uncertainty and fear. 

When the first Trump administration expanded public charge in 2019, research documented declines in participation in Medicaid, SNAP and other programs among immigrant families. Some people avoided assistance even when the policy did not apply to them or when the benefits were intended for their U.S. citizen children. 

The new policy is likely to produce a similar chilling effect. DHS itself acknowledges that eliminating the 2022 regulations may cause people who are not subject to public charge to withdraw from or decline programs for which they remain eligible. 

Fear does not observe the careful legal distinctions in a federal regulation. It spreads through families, workplaces and communities. 

Arizona will bear the cost when eligible families forgo assistance 

Programs such as Medicaid, SNAP and WIC do more than help individual households. They support children’s development, strengthen family finances, improve public health and bring federal resources into Arizona communities. 

When eligible families withdraw from those programs, the need does not disappear. 

A child who loses health coverage may go without preventive care until a condition becomes an emergency. A family that gives up nutrition assistance may turn to already strained food banks or cut spending on rent, utilities and other necessities. Hospitals and clinics may provide more uncompensated care. Schools may see more children struggling with hunger or untreated health needs. Employers may feel the effects when workers are forced to miss work to manage preventable family crises. 

Arizona businesses also lose the economic activity generated when federal nutrition and health care dollars flow into local grocery stores, clinics and communities. 

These consequences will not be confined to immigrant households. They will be absorbed by Arizona health providers, schools, charitable organizations, businesses, local governments and taxpayers. 

Arizona has already seen how rapidly policy changes and administrative barriers can separate eligible families from essential assistance. Adding another layer of fear and uncertainty will make it harder — not easier — for families to remain healthy, employed and economically secure. 

Accurate information will be essential 

The new policy is complicated, and additional U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidance will be especially important in determining how officers apply it in individual cases. 

One important protection is already clear: DHS says benefits that were excluded from consideration under the 2022 regulations will continue to be evaluated under those narrower standards if they were received before Sept. 18, 2026. 

In the meantime, families should not make decisions about health care, food assistance or other essential programs based on rumors or generalized warnings. Anyone concerned about how the policy may affect a specific immigration application should speak with a qualified immigration attorney or Department of Justice-accredited representative before stopping benefits for themselves or their family. 

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress will continue monitoring federal guidance and the policy’s effects on immigrant families and communities across our state. 

When eligible Arizona families are frightened away from the programs that help them remain healthy, fed and financially stable, the consequences affect all of us.