Contact: Bilal Askaryar | baskaryar@cwsglobal.org | 202-750-0960
Washington, DC – After months of warnings about the consequences from anti-poverty, nutrition, and other experts, the Trump administration is moving forward with new a “public charge” regulation that will turn every request for basic human needs into an immigration status check.
POLITICO reported that White House advisor Stephen Miller has a “singular obsession” with the policy, believing it will help bring about a dramatic change to U.S. immigration.
The purpose of this regulation is to further reduce basic humanity in our low-income assistance programs and discourage immigrant parents from seeking assistance for their U.S. citizen children–even though they still qualify for help. It’s part of a larger “police state” strategy carried out by Miller and the Trump administration that impacts both immigrants and citizens, including children and anyone “perceived” to be foreign-born.
Religious leaders are speaking out strongly against these latest attacks on individuals and families. Read on for their quotes.
“The Trump administration is doing in the dark what it couldn’t do in Congress,” said Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. “This Public Charge rule is a part of the full scale assault on hard working low wage workers. These programs make up for the starvation wages paid by wealthy companies. President Trump is literally taking food off the tables of our neighbors while padding the pocketbooks of his billionaire friends. It is wrong, and I pray the courts will stop the rule’s implementation.”
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, said, “As Jews, we will not be silent while this morally bankrupt administration tries to force families to choose between feeding and housing their children and living together with them in safety. The Talmud describes the people of Sodom passing ordinances forbidding the entry of outsiders, whom residents feared came only to deplete their resources. Our country is acting as another Sodom: A place that mistreats those seeking refuge here and where injustice masquerades as rule of law.”
Patrick Carolan, Executive Director of Franciscan Action Network states that this Public Charge rule “underscores the hypocrisy of the Trump administration’s claim that it values families and the American Dream as bedrocks of our society. It is an assault on hard working, underpaid families, making them even more vulnerable to homelessness, illness, and malnutrition. Immigrant families may be forced to make a cruel choice between being together and accessing public funds assistance. Our faith demands that we speak out in defense of vulnerable people and families who are under attack by this administration.”
“The Trump administration continues to unfairly target immigrants, including families and children,” said Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women. “Punishing people for accessing government services to which they are entitled has already had a chilling effect on immigrant families and communities. No mother should be forced by our government to choose between feeding her children and keeping her family together.”
“The Trump Administration’s final rule to subject LEGAL immigrants to possible deportation if they make LEGAL use of public benefits runs contrary to our Christian faith and to our American history,” said Lawrence E. Couch, Director, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. “It marks a radical shift from our nation’s history of family immigration and extending welcome to people seeking to build a better life. This targets not just the legal resident but also the legal resident’s family, including U.S. citizens. This drastic and immoral rule clearly is a push against all immigration and against all immigrants.”
Carol Zinn, SSJ, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious suggests that, “The new public charge regulation is yet another attempt by President Trump to restrict immigration and punish immigrant families. The new public charge rule could dissuade parents from obtaining benefits for which their children qualify. It will increase poverty, hunger, homelessness, and decrease children’s well-being. This targeting of the most vulnerable within our community violates the tenets of our faith and threatens the values of our nation. We are called by our faith to care for the most vulnerable and we are challenged by our national values to tend the common good. If we want our communities to thrive, all families in those communities have to have access to the care and services they need and to which they are entitled.”
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said “By preventing society’s most vulnerable from accessing vital public benefits, the public charge regulation flies in the face of our sacred Jewish values. The prophets proclaim, ‘Uphold the rights of the orphan; Defend the cause of the widow’ (Isaiah 1:17) and ‘Do not defraud the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor’ (Zechariah 7:10). Sadly, this regulation does just the that – ripping the safety net away from some of the people who need it most. We decry this inhumane regulation and call on our elected officials to treat those who use public benefits, including immigrants, with justice and compassion.”
Kristin Kumpf, Director of Human Migration and Mobility at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), said “We all benefit when all members of our communities have enough to eat, access to healthcare, and safe housing. If individuals and families are afraid to access programs that support their physical, mental and financial well-being because of the Trump Administration’s public charge rule, the Administration risks the well-being of our society at large. This attack on legal immigration puts families in an impossible situation where they may be forced to choose between basic human rights and staying together. AFSC recommends that the administration extend access to quality affordable health care, affordable housing, food and nutrition programs, disability assistance, job training, and disaster assistance to everyone, regardless of immigration status.
Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ
“These proposed rule changes to deem immigrants a public charge for receiving basic human needs will be devastating. Working class immigrant families are being further marginalized and forced to choose between accessing needed care including housing and nutrition assistance and the potential of deportation. We urge the Administration to rescind these immoral and unconscionable public charge rules that will hurt our communities.”
Rev. David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World, said “The public charge rule will affect the health and well-being of millions of lawful immigrants. Families will be forced to make the impossible choice of putting food on the table and staying together legally in the country. The Bible is clear that God wants us to be generous and welcoming to all people, specifically immigrants. We urge the Administration to immediately withdraw this rule.”
Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries, said “The calling of our scriptures is clear and repeated to ‘maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute’ (Ps. 82:3) and “defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:9.) Instead, the new public charge rule puts immigration status at risk if a person is not wealthy, and punishes potential immigrants who may have an existing health condition. It penalizes immigrants who seek to obtain legal status if they have accessed public housing benefits–even if they have done so temporarily–and likewise threatens consequences upon single parents who may need benefits for a short time to support their family as they build stability. Such damages are unnecessary and harmful to families and communities, and we urge the Administration to rescind the rule.”
Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO, Church World Service, said “Hard-working immigrant families shouldn’t have to choose between family reunification and having enough to eat. Investing in nutrition, health care, and other essential needs keeps children learning, parents working, and families strong, and allows all of us to contribute fully to our communities. This an attack against families and children. This type of policy goes against the tenets of our faith traditions — to welcome and love our neighbors, and especially to care for our children.”
Mark Hetfield, President and CEO, HIAS, said “At numerous points during HIAS’ 138 year history, we have seen anti-immigrant officials use “public charge” as a pretext to send back members of ethnic groups whom they considered undesirable. Such efforts have deadly consequences, whether public charge is used as a justification for turning away people who are fleeing for their lives or as a way to deny and discourage access to medical care or basic nutrition. The Torah commands us 36 times to love the stranger as ourselves, a law which this administration violates every day, including through its new public charge rule. At HIAS, we join other communities of faith and the vast majority of the 266,077 public commenters who challenge this mean-spirited attempt to adopt a restrictionist interpretation of public charge without any legislative authorization to do so.”
Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, General Secretary of The General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church, said “The rule on public charge and its effects are a moral outrage. They are an injustice contrary to God’s Word as declared in Holy Scripture and through the person of Jesus Christ. Forcing families to choose between the food, housing, and healthcare they need and the people they love is a false choice, and an evil one. The United Methodist Church rejects this choice and ‘affirms the worth, dignity, and inherent value and rights of all persons regardless of their nationality or legal status.’ To refuse care for ‘the least’ among us, immigrants and their families at the margins of society, and is sinful.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 52 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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