Agmt20 Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County and RWC 2020 MOU

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"Public Charge" is a term used in immigration law to refer to a person who is likely to rely on the government for financial and material support. An immigrant who is found likely to become a "public charge" may be denied admission to the U.S. or lawful permanent resident status. This determination is made only when a person applies to enter the U.S. or applies to adjust status to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) ("get a green card") through a relative petition, not when applying for citizenship, refugee or asylee status. Immigrants petitioning under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) or applying for U/T visas because they are victims of certain crimes are also not subject to the "public charge" test. Currently, only cash benefits, nursing home care paid by Medicaid and other factors are considered when making a public charge determination. Citizens, LPRs, VAWA petitioners, Asylees, Refugees and U & T -visa applicants, who are typically the only immigrants eligible for cash benefits, are not subject to the public charge test. But because most people confuse benefits eligibility with who is subject to public charge, many immigrants — including those eligible for benefits and not affected by public charge — avoid benefits. This is the "chilling effect." The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed rule would make several significant changes. It seeks to include the receipt of CalFresh/food stamps, Medi -Cal, subsidized housing, and Medicare Part D (prescription drugs) subsidies, as indications that a person is likely to become a public charge. The rule also gives weights to the other criteria, such as language ability, health, income less than 125% of Federal Poverty level, education, and disabilities, which will make it difficult for many low-income, non-English speaking immigrants without a college degree to pass the public charge evaluation. If these proposed rules are made final, immigrants will feel even more pressure to abstain from receiving benefits, leaving many families to struggle even more to make ends meet. LIBRE's messaging will be even more important if the changes are adopted. The test will still be a "totality of the circumstances," forward-looking assessment. This means that the receipt of benefits in the past could be outweighed by current education, employment or other factors. In addition, with little hope for immigration reform in the next two years, many undocumented immigrants are unlikely to be eligible to petition for LPR status in the near future, so the pool of affected individuals is limited. LIBRE's focus in the coming year will be to help families weigh the benefits of getting medical care and food (and even cash) for their eligible children against their individual prospects for adjusting their immigration status. LIBRE will: 1) create and promote messages to the immigrant community to explain what the current public charge rules are and what any changes mean for them so that they can make informed decisions about applying for benefits; 2) help immigrants apply for appropriate safety net benefits and immigration relief, 3) work with the San Mateo County multi -agency workgroup and the national Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) coalition to develop and amplify accurate public charge messaging; and 4) advise San Mateo County immigrants about their individual decisions around public charge and accessing benefits. IL LIBRE Will Continue to Deliver Comprehensive, Integrated Core Services. REV: 12-20-19 RL ATN/AGR.2019.322/Legal Aid Society of San Mateo (Page 9 of 14)