Just hours after major U.S. cities filed suit, a coalition of 22 states led by New York Attorney General Letitia James lodged a separate complaint challenging DHS’s revived public-charge rule. Filed late Monday, September 14, the 96-page complaint argues the regulation is “arbitrary and capricious,” exceeds statutory authority and violates the equal-protection clause by disproportionately harming immigrants of color. The states—among them California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Michigan—say the rule will force lawful permanent-resident applicants to forego Medicaid and SNAP, increasing uncompensated-care costs and undermining public-health goals. Economists retained by the plaintiffs estimate that up to 950,000 people could disenroll from Medicaid alone, raising state hospital spending by more than $1 billion annually. From an employer perspective, the suit introduces fresh ambiguity for foreign nationals adjusting status through employment categories. Attorneys warn that applicants may need to produce extensive financial documentation to prove self-sufficiency, slowing Form I-485 adjudications. Corporate relocation budgets may also need to cover private health-insurance premiums for assignees who drop off Medicaid to avoid negative inferences. Legal experts note that the dual city- and state-level challenges increase the odds of at least one nationwide injunction before the rule’s September 18 start date. If granted, USCIS could not enforce the stricter standard, and the agency’s new Form I-485 edition—stripped of detailed benefit questions—would revert to the previous version. That prospect complicates forms-update schedules for HR operations already adjusting to today’s D/S rule and next week’s fee increases for H-1B and L-1 petitions. Mobility managers should prepare template financial-support letters and counsel foreign employees on the potential need for public-charge bonds. At the same time, they must follow the litigation closely: a sudden injunction could undo weeks of form-preparation work and reverse adjudication strategies mid-stream.
Source: Associated Press
