22 States and Major Cities Sue to Block Trump's Expanded 'Public Charge' Green Card Rule

Twenty-two Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., plus a separate coalition of cities and counties including New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle, filed lawsuits Sept. 14, 2026, in the Southern District of New York challenging a new DHS and USCIS "public charge" rule set to take effect that Friday. The rule lets officers weigh applicants' or relatives' use of benefits such as Medicaid, SNAP and CHIP in green card, visa or admission decisions, reversing a 2022 policy excluding those benefits.

The states' suit cites DHS's own estimate that plaintiff states could lose $2.2 billion in federal Medicaid and CHIP payments and $575 million in SNAP payments annually as families disenroll out of fear, costs states argue they'd be forced to absorb. The cities' suit estimates roughly 1.3 million people, including 600,000 children, could lose care or coverage, with New York City alone projecting 6,000 fewer annual primary-care visits.

Both suits argue the rule unlawfully reverses longstanding public-charge limits; no ruling had been issued as of publication.