The Human Service Chamber has consistently stood against the Public Charge Rule, from the moment it was proposed by the White House. We joined with over 250,000 public commenters across partisan lines and sectors in submitting public comments in opposition to the rule, and lamented the government’s eagerness to overlook this pushback when it chose to pursue implementation of the rule anyway. And we rejoiced when federal courts blocked the rule from being implemented via an injunction last year while the rule was litigated on the merits.

It is with much disappointment and concern that we reassert our opposition to this rule, as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 to lift that injunction. The consequence? The White House’s attempts to restrict immigration for those who have benefited from the use of a range of economic and healthcare programs may now begin. Those programs, including food stamps, housing vouchers, Medicaid, and so many more. They are the programs provided proudly every day by our member agencies without the prejudice this very rule dredges up and memorializes in law.

This rule is anathema to one of the fundamental promises upon which the United States has long stood. We are a nation of immigrants–no matter their lot in life upon their arrival at our country’s shores–as memorialized on the Statue of Liberty:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…

We shall continue fighting with allies on both sides of the aisle for this promise to be kept once again.