Attorney General Phil Weiser sues to block Trump administration’s public charge rule

Attorney General Phil Weiser sues to block Trump administration's public charge rule

Sept. 14, 2026 (DENVER) - Attorney General Phil Weiser today joined 21 other states and the District of Columbia in suing to halt the Trump administration's new public charge rule, which would allow immigration officials to punish immigrants for lawful use of public benefits.

The new Department of Homeland Security policy would give immigration officers broad discretion to deny green cards based on use of public benefits. Attorney General Weiser and the coalition are asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to declare this rule unlawful.

"The administration's unlawful rule weaponizes the public charge test to harm legal immigrant children and families and cause fear, confusion and uncertainty about accessing benefits they are legally entitled to receive. Additionally, the rule could put more strain on hospitals and community health centers and threaten federal funding to the states for school lunch programs, SNAP food benefits, education and more. We sued to block a similar rule in the first Trump administration and won, and we'll prevail again," said Attorney General Weiser.

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 Weiser and the coalition explain that the administration has acknowledged that the fear and confusion the new rule would cause immigrant families 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 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.

The lawsuit further argues 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. When the Trump administration introduced a similar rule in 2019, Attorney General Weiser sued to block the measure, a ruling that was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

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.

The attorneys general from California, Illinois, and New York, led the lawsuit. Joining them are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, and the governor of Pennsylvania. The lawsuit was filed alongside a coalition of cities and counties led by the City of New York.

Read a copy of the complaint (PDF).

###

Media Contact:
Lawrence Pacheco
Chief Communications Officer
(720) 508-6553 office
[email protected]