Public Charge Federal Changes: Renewed Fear, Renewed Harm for Arizona Families

The Trump administration is waging a multi-pronged assault on immigrant families through simultaneous changes to public charge rules, SNAP eligibility, and tax credit regulations. Taken together, these policies form a coordinated strategy designed to instill fear and confusion in immigrant communities while dramatically increasing child poverty and economic instability in Arizona.

What makes this assault particularly concerning is that while some changes were made as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill (also referred to as H.R. 1), others, particularly the proposed Treasury regulation, lack clear legal authority and appear to override congressional intent. Regardless of their origin, the combined effect is the same: Families are pushed away from basic supports their children are legally eligible to receive.

What is the public charge rule?

Under federal immigration law, a public charge determination is used to assess whether a person applying for lawful permanent residence (a green card) is likely to become primarily dependent on government assistance. Historically, this determination has been narrowly defined and focused on long-term reliance on cash assistance or institutional care.

On Nov. 17, the Department of Homeland Security released a proposed rule that would scrap the 2022 Biden administration public charge policy and re-establish an expansive, discretionary framework allowing immigration officers to consider a wide range of “means-tested public benefits,” including SNAP, Medicaid, and housing supports. Under current policy, only cash assistance and long-term institutionalization are considered in public charge when evaluating green card applications.

The proposed rule eliminates the existing clear standard and instead directs officers to weigh any past or potential benefit use without clear limits. The Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) coalition warns that the rule would “put millions at risk” and create widespread chilling effects, especially for families with U.S.-born children who are fully eligible for these programs.

This proposal goes even further than the 2019 Trump rule — struck down in 2021— by providing no replacement guidance, no thresholds and no safeguards against arbitrary enforcement. Officers are told to “use their discretion,” a direction that maximizes confusion and fear and increases the likelihood of discriminatory decision-making.

The Arizona Impact

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Center, more than one in four Arizona children (28 percent) live in a household with at least one immigrant parent. These families already face higher rates of instability and food insecurity.

Reintroducing an expansive public charge rule would intensify barriers to SNAP, Medicaid, and other basic supports. The chilling effect alone would push families away from programs that help feed their children, attend school, and maintain stable housing.

SNAP Restrictions: Compounding Harm Through Administrative Barriers

Additionally, under the One Big Beautiful Bill, Congress severely restricted the ability of lawfully present immigrants to apply for SNAP benefits. Under this bill, refugees and other immigrants, like human trafficking survivors, who have lawful immigration authority to live and work in the U.S., are now ineligible to receive SNAP.

These changes to SNAP are particularly concerning in Arizona, where more than 900,000 residents relied on SNAP last year, including more than 347,000 children. SNAP remains one of the nation’s most effective anti-poverty tools, especially during periods of high food prices and rising housing costs.

The combined effects of administrative barriers and fear-driven disenrollment could significantly reduce participation among eligible mixed-status families and their U.S. citizen children. The PIF coalition warns that immigrant families routinely disengage from programs when new verification systems are introduced, even when they remain fully eligible.

For Arizona, reduced SNAP participation would deepen food insecurity and weaken local economies. Families spend SNAP at grocery stores and small businesses, generating economic activity that stabilizes rural and urban communities alike.

Treasury’s Proposed Policy Shift: A Legally Unsupported Approach that Threatens Key Anti-Poverty Tools

The Treasury Department’s recent proposal to consider refundable tax credits, including the Child Tax Credit, as public benefits marks a major and legally questionable shift in federal policy. According to the Tax Policy Center’s analysis, Treasury’s proposal “appears to override congressional intent” by treating refundable tax credits as if they were means-tested welfare programs, despite being explicitly created through the tax code.

Refundable credits have not been counted in public charge determinations, and Congress has provided no indication of intending such a change.

Although the legal footing for Treasury’s move is questionable, the practical impact is significant. Simply raising the possibility that refundable tax credits could harm immigration status creates confusion and discourages mix-status families from claiming the CTC.

For Arizona families with low incomes, refundable tax credits are among the most effective tools available for reducing poverty and improving child well-being. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds that refundable credits reduce racial and income disparities, stabilize families’ budgets, and strengthen state economies because families spend these dollars on basic needs.

Looked at together, these actions don’t operate as isolated policy changes. They reinforce one another in ways that heighten fear, reduce access to basic needs, and increase the likelihood that Arizona children, the vast majority of who are U.S. Citizens, will fall deeper into poverty. Each policy targets a different point in the safety net, but the cumulative effect is the same: immigrant families are pushed away from programs their children are legally eligible to receive, Arizona’s economy loses federal dollars that support local spending, and out state’s progress on reducing child poverty is put at risk.