The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) decided to stop defending the Trump-era public charge regulations. Not long after, the Supreme Court dismissed the pending appeals, and the 7th Circuit dismissed the government’s appeal as well. This means that the final judgment entered in the Northern District of Illinois on Nov. 2, 2020, which vacated the public charge rule nationwide is now in effect. This means that the Trump Administration’s 2019 public charge rule is permanently blocked nationwide and no longer in effect, meaning that it is safe for immigrants and their families to access health, nutrition, and housing programs for which they are eligible without fear of doing so impacting decisions on permanent status.
