Key keywords: DHS green card rule, immigrant public charge policy, Medicaid immigration eligibility, SNAP benefits green card, housing assistance immigration impact, US legal permanent residence application, public benefit use immigration consequence, 2024 US immigration policy update The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially released a new proposed rule this week that would explicitly include immigrants' use of three major public benefit programs as a negative factor when evaluating their applications for lawful permanent residence, commonly known as a green card. The proposed regulation revises the existing public charge framework, which assesses whether an applicant is likely to become primarily dependent on government assistance in the future. Under the new rule, adjudicators will consider an applicant’s past or current use of non-emergency Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called food stamps), and federal housing assistance programs including Section 8 housing vouchers and public housing as part of a holistic review process. DHS officials clarified that the rule would not apply to several protected groups, including U.S. citizens, refugees, asylum seekers, recipients of special immigrant visas for Afghan and Iraqi allies, military members and their families, and minors under the age of 21. Benefits used to cover medical expenses related to a disability or emergency care will also not be counted, nor will benefits used by U.S. citizen family members of the applicant, according to the official text. However, immigrant advocacy groups have raised widespread alarm over the proposal, noting that decades of data from previous public charge policy changes show that even eligible immigrants often avoid accessing critical benefits for themselves and their family members out of fear of jeopardizing their immigration status. A 2023 study from the Migration Policy Institute found that 38% of low-income legal immigrant households skipped applying for at least one public benefit they qualified for between 2020 and 2022 due to public charge-related concerns, even under the more lenient Biden-era rule that was in place at the time. DHS estimates that roughly 540,000 people apply for adjustment of status to green card holders in the U.S. each year, and approximately 14% of those applicants have used one or more of the listed benefits in the past, meaning the rule could impact more than 75,000 applicants annually. The proposed rule is now open for a 60-day public comment period, after which DHS will review all submitted feedback before issuing a final version of the regulation. Supporters of the rule, including most Republican lawmakers and conservative immigration policy groups, argue that the policy is a necessary safeguard for taxpayer resources, ensuring that immigrants who come to the U.S. are economically self-sufficient and do not place an undue burden on social safety net programs designed for vulnerable U.S. residents. Opponents, including Democratic elected officials and public health advocates, warn that the rule will exacerbate food insecurity, reduce access to preventive healthcare, and increase housing instability for immigrant communities, leading to broader public health and economic costs for local communities across the country.