AG Nessel Sues to Block Trump Administration's Public Charge Rule

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined 21 other states and the District of Columbia in suing to halt the Trump administration's new public charge rule (PDF), which would allow immigration officials to punish immigrants for lawful use of public benefits. The new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy would give immigration officers broad discretion to deny green cards based on use of public benefits. Attorney General Nessel and the coalition are asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) to declare this rule unlawful.

“The vast majority of Michigan’s immigrants arrived at and remain in our country legally,” said Attorney General Nessel. “Once again, this administration is ignoring the law for its own xenophobic purposes. Implementation of this rule would purposefully instill fear in immigrant communities and punish hardworking residents and their families for justly accessing public assistance programs. My office will continue to advocate for Michiganders regardless of their place of birth. I stand proudly with my colleagues in requesting the withdrawal of this ill-conceived rule.”

A “public charge” means a person who is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for long-term subsistence. In 2022, the federal government issued a rule limiting public charge determinations to cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization at government expense. The Trump administration’s new rule, taking effect September 18, would let immigration officers count nearly any means-tested public benefit, used for any length of time, against an applicant. The rule also allows immigration officers to consider some benefits legally used by family members whom the applicant is legally obligated to support, even if the family member is a U.S. citizen. There is no clear limit on which benefits, or how much use, count against an applicant, leaving families to guess which forms of assistance might put their immigration status at risk.

Attorney General Nessel and the coalition assert that the administration has acknowledged the fear and confusion the new rule would cause. Immigrant families would be required to disenroll from benefits to which they are legally entitled. DHS estimates that disenrollment or forgone enrollment resulting from the new rule could reduce federal Medicaid and CHIP transfer payments to the states by approximately $4.05 billion annually and federal SNAP transfer payments by approximately $1.02 billion annually.

The lawsuit argues that the disruption will not stop with the families who disenroll from public benefits. When people lose access to health coverage, they delay care and turn to emergency rooms instead, straining safety-net hospitals and community health centers, and raising costs for everyone. Schools risk losing automatic certification for free and reduced-price meal programs when SNAP and Medicaid enrollment drops below required thresholds, cutting off meals for eligible students regardless of income or immigration status. Federal Title I education funding is also likely to fall if student enrollment in benefits decreases and would be a devastating loss for schools. Reduced participation in SNAP can also harm local economies, draining money from the grocery stores and local businesses that depend on SNAP recipients’ business.

The coalition notes that the states and local governments that administer these programs will bear direct costs – from new communications, to staff training, to information technology changes needed to manage the disruption. This is on top of the added strain of residents cycling on and off programs out of fear.

Attorney General Nessel and the coalition argue that the new rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it is arbitrary and capricious, exceeds DHS’s statutory authority, and departs from the longstanding meaning of the public charge provision established by Congress.

The attorneys general are asking a federal judge to declare the 2026 public charge rule unlawful and vacate it, protecting states and their residents from its unlawful harms.

Joining Attorney General Nessel in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania. The lawsuit was filed alongside a coalition of cities and counties led by the City of New York.

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