Final Public Charge Rule Delivers Another Cruel Attack on Eligible Immigrants’ Health Care Access

07.16.2026 / Statement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Anthony Wright, Families USA's executive director, issued the following statement today in response to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finalizing the Public Charge of Inadmissibility Rule. The final rule rescinds the 2022 Public Charge regulation and penalizes lawfully present and eligible immigrants for accessing vital services by making recipients of these programs inadmissible for residency.

"The Trump administration has delivered another blow that deters lawfully present immigrants from using critical, lifesaving services - and will have broader impacts on our public health and the health system on which we all rely.

"This rule will cause chaos and cruelty by gutting the requirement for immigration officials to weigh evidence fairly and explain their decisions, replacing consistency with unchecked discretion. The rule ultimately leaves some lawfully present immigrant families with the impossible choice of gambling that accessing care won't cost them their future. In the confusion that this rule creates, we urge potentially impacted individuals to consult trusted sources to confirm whether these regulations apply to them and what their options are.

"DHS finalized this rule despite acknowledging that the impacts go far beyond immigrants and will ripple into hospitals, pharmacies, grocery stores, housing, and our broader economy that all Americans depend on.

"In the wake of President Trump's big budget cuts to health care and the historic rollbacks to Medicaid, this final rule is another attempt to impose fear among lawfully present immigrants from accessing vital health care services when they need them most. We will continue to fight for immigrant communities that contribute so much to society - for their right to seek and access critical care and coverage - and against yet another attack on our health system."