Author: Senior Administrator of Policy and Advocacy, Trudy Taylor Smith, CDF-Texas
Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up healthy, supported, and free from unnecessary barriers to care. A new public charge rule, announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), threatens that vision by creating new uncertainty for immigrant families and discouraging eligible children from accessing the resources they need to thrive.
The public charge rule will take effect on September 18, 2026. As outlined in the public comment Children’s Defense Fund-Texas (CDF-TX) submitted to DHS in December 2025, we strongly oppose this rule because it harms children and families by creating fear, confusion, and uncertainty around accessing essential supports.
This policy change will prevent eligible children in mixed-status families from accessing healthcare, nutrition assistance, and other essential resources they are legally entitled to receive—11.4% of all U.S. citizen children in Texas live with at least one undocumented parent and 34% of all Texas children have at least one immigrant parent (including parents who are refugees, Lawful Permanent Residents, and naturalized U.S. citizens).
When families avoid these supports out of fear, children bear the consequences.
What is public charge?
The “public charge” test considers whether a person applying for a visa from outside the U.S. or for Lawful Permanent Resident status (often referred to as a “green card”) is likely at any time to become primarily dependent on the government to support them. Anyone deemed likely to become a public charge will have their green card or visa application denied. The new DHS rule will apply to green card applications made inside the United States on or after September 18, 2026.
How does the new rule change the public charge test?
Under the 2022 rule (which remains in effect until September 18), the only public benefit use that an immigration officer could consider under the public charge test is the applicant’s past receipt of cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization at government expense. However, the new rule removes regulations that limit the kinds of public benefits that can be considered by an immigration officer under the public charge rule, and it eliminates regulatory language specifying that benefits received by an applicant’s family members will not be considered in the public charge determination. This creates a lack of clarity about which benefits are safe for immigrants to use, and whether or how a family member’s use of benefits could be counted against an applicant in the future.
A person’s use of public benefits is only one factor considered under the public charge test, and immigration officers will still consider factors such as the applicant’s age, income, education, skills, employment, health, and any affidavit of support. However, the new rule also allows immigration officers to use their own discretion to consider other factors, too, and they are no longer required to treat an affidavit of support as a positive factor. This broad discretion opens the door to decisions that are arbitrary or biased.
What do impacted families need to know?
- CDF-TX and partners across the country are continuing to advocate against this rule, and we remain committed to keeping communities informed as this situation develops.
- The new rule does not change the categories of immigrants that the public charge test applies to, and most immigrants do not have to worry about public charge at all. U.S. citizens, people granted various kinds of humanitarian protection, those without a pathway to lawful permanent resident status, and individuals who already have a green card (except in limited circumstances such as returning to the U.S. with certain criminal history or after spending more than 180 days abroad) are not affected by the new rule.
- The new rule does not go into effect until September 18, 2026. This means that the new public charge rule will only be applied to green card applications submitted on or after that date. However, it is unclear whether the use of public benefits beyond cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization between now and September 18 may potentially be considered when those applications are processed.
- In the meantime, immigrants should consult with a knowledgeable immigration attorney before leaving the country or applying for a green card.
- When making decisions about accessing public benefits, it’s important for immigrants and their families to stay connected to local, community-based organizations for further guidance and support.
CDF-TX encourages families to seek trusted guidance before making decisions related to immigration status or public benefits. Community-based organizations and qualified immigration attorneys can help families understand their options and make informed decisions based on their individual circumstances, risks, and priorities.
Every child deserves access to the resources they need to grow, learn, and thrive. We remain committed to advocating for policies that protect children and support immigrant families across Texas.
For more information and resources about the new public charge rule from the Protecting Immigrant Families coalition, please visit https://pifcoalition.org/publiccharge.
This blog post is intended to provide general information and is not a substitute for legal advice.