2nd Circ. Breathes New Life Into ‘Public Charge’ Rule

The Second Circuit on Wednesday revived the Trump administration’s Public Charge Rule for immigrants, narrowing a New York federal judge’s earlier ruling that had blocked the contested immigration rule nationwide during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a brief order signed by U.S. Circuit Judge Peter W. Hall, the appeals court said that U.S. District Judge George Daniels’ July 29 order temporarily halting the administration’s so-called public charge rule across the U.S. during the pandemic would only apply within New York, Connecticut, and Vermont.

In blocking the immigration rule, Judge Daniels had found that the policy, which allows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to deny green cards to low-income immigrants, deters immigrants from seeking COVID-19 testing and could threaten efforts to curb the spread of the disease.

The case is State of New York v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, case number 20-2537, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.