Updated August 22, 2019

Oregon declared thirty years ago that “all people have the right to be free from hunger.” There should be no exceptions. This morning, the White House announced that they finalized a policy, called Public Charge, that creates an unjust and morally bankrupt exception.

It is an attack on immigrants and on people living in poverty. 

Make no mistake—when you hear “public charge” think of a wall. Instead of steel and concrete, this wall has been built with pen and paper. The intent is the same.

The Trump administration is weaponizing policies to send immigrant families one message: if you’re not white and you’re not wealthy, you’re not welcome here.

The new “Public Charge” rule will punish documented, tax-paying immigrants and their families—blocking them from going through the official immigration process—just for receiving benefits for which they are legally eligible. For the first time ever, this will include if they use SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid and housing assistance to help make ends meet. We are talking about basic needs to feed our children and keep our families healthy. 

We stand with our partners, like the Protect Immigrant Families Coalition, and echo the outrage that Trump’s public charge regulation puts money above family, forcing millions of families to choose between the things they need and the people they love.

The best way to build a strong country is to ensure that the families who live here have the food, medical care, shelter and other basics they need to thrive. 

It’s important to note that although this policy doesn’t change who is eligible for SNAP, it will punish some who utilize it by factoring income and use of basic assistance into immigration decisions.

We are analyzing the policy today and coordinating with our Oregon and national partners–we will share more with you in the coming days. There will likely be legal and legislative efforts to halt or at least mitigate the policy from harming families. 

Hunger-Free Oregon will be coming out with more details about what this proposed rule means for families in Oregon, particularly the impact on people utilizing SNAP, and tools to take action.

Actions against this unjust policy

• Oregon has joined with four states and the District of Columbia to challenge this racist and unjust policy, filing a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday, August 16. Read more about the suit here.
• You can take action! Send a letter to your U.S. State Representative through our action tool to ask them to cosponsor H.R. 3222, which will ban any federal funds from being used to implement public charge. The denial of these funds could dramatically cut the efficiency of the rule. Check if your representative is a cosponsor here.
• If you are an individual or represent an organization that wants to stand against Public Charge, the Protecting Immigrant Families coalition has provided this template for submitting an op-ed to your local paper. 

Community education resources

We want to make sure that accurate information is going out about the changes to public charge in our community. Below are a few resources to help. We’ll keep adding to these resources as more becomes available. 

• Public Charge: Getting the Help You Need from Protecting Immigrant Families. A clear breakdown of the new public charge changes, when they start, and who is and is not impacted.
• Let’s Talk about Public Charge from Protecting Immigrant Families, factsheet with top talking points 
• A recent webinar from Protecting Immigrant Families provides an overview of the changes and ways to take action – Slides, Recording 

Oregon-specific resources

• “Know the Facts about Public Charge” fact sheet in English, Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, Arabic, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese from Causa, Oregon Law Center and Oregon Latino Health Coalition
• Frequently Asked Questions on Public Charge from Oregon Department of Human Services
• The Oregon Law Center and the Oregon Latino Health Coalition were recently on OPB’s Think Out Loud talking about the public charge changes
• Resources for legal help:
  • Contact an immigration attorney with questions about immigration options and public benefits. Find legal help at oregonimmigrationresource.org/resources.
  • Call Oregon’s Public Benefits Hotline with questions about benefits and enrollment: 1-800-520-5292.