More Activists Demand Welfare Benefits for Foreign Nationals

October 10, 2019

IRLI defends the American tradition that immigrants must be self-sufficient

WASHINGTON – In a barrage of lawsuits across the country, activists and politicians who want aliens to receive welfare benefits at the expense of American taxpayers are targeting the Trump administration’s new public charge rule, which directs officials not to allow aliens who receive public assistance to stay in the country.

Continuing its response to these suits, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) has filed three friend-of-the-court briefs in federal district courts – one brief in the Southern District of New York, a second brief in the District of Maryland, and a third brief in the Northern District of Illinois.

As IRLI points out in its briefs, the public charge rule has been on the books for more than 137 years, working as intended to ensure that immigrants provided for themselves instead of burdening taxpayers. But since the last days of the Clinton administration, federal bureaucrats, without legal justification, have interpreted the rule almost out of existence.

“It should be obvious that we don’t want to import a dependent class into America,” said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. “But in recent decades our government has ignored the clear meaning of the public charge statute, to the point where immigrant households are now more dependent on public assistance than native households. We applaud the administration for restoring both common sense and the rule of law in this area, and putting the interests of the American people first.”

The cases are Make the Road New York v. Cuccinelli, No. 19-cv-7993 (S.D.N.Y.), Casa de Maryland v. Trump, No. 8:19-cv-2715 (D. Md.), and Cook County, Illinois v. McAleenan, No. 1:19-cv-06334 (N.D. Ill.).

For additional information, contact: Brian Lonergan • 202-232-5590 • [email protected]