Wealth Test Showdown Hits NYC

Exterior view of a city hall building with columns and a clear blue sky — Photo: Darryl Brooks / Shutterstock

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is suing the Trump administration to stop a rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits like food stamps or Medicaid.

Quick Take

Mamdani and New York Attorney General Letitia James filed lawsuits against a new Department of Homeland Security “public charge” rule set to take effect September 18.
The rule lets immigration officers weigh use of almost any means-tested public benefit when deciding green card and visa applications.
James’s suit includes 21 other states and Washington, D.C.; Mamdani’s version is joined by a coalition of cities.
The Trump administration says the rule restores the idea that immigrants should be self-reliant, not dependent on taxpayer money.

New Rule Expands What Counts Against Immigrants

The Department of Homeland Security finalized a rule rescinding a 2022 Biden-era policy on public charge determinations. Officials said the change realigns immigration law with what they call Congress’s original intent: that immigrants living in the United States support themselves instead of relying on taxpayer-funded programs. Under the new rule, officers can count nearly any means-tested public benefit, used for any length of time, against an applicant.

That marks a sharp shift from the rule it replaces. The 2022 version only counted cash assistance like Supplemental Security Income or long-term institutional care paid by the government. It specifically excluded programs like food stamps, Medicaid and housing aid. The new rule does not list which benefits count, leaving that decision largely up to individual officers.

Mamdani and James File Separate Legal Challenges

Attorney General James announced her lawsuit against the rule, saying it aims to deny green cards and visas to immigrants who use or have used government assistance. Her suit, filed in the Southern District of New York, includes New York City, Connecticut, Vermont and 21 other states, plus Washington, D.C.. Mamdani filed a separate but related lawsuit alongside a coalition of other mayors challenging the same rule.

Mamdani argues the rule would put lives at risk by pushing immigrant families away from benefits they need. His lawsuit and James’s suit both claim the Trump administration is using an expanded, vague definition of “public charge” to block far more people than the law allows. Critics have called it a “wealth test” that punishes low-income immigrants simply for accessing programs available to them.

Trump Administration Defends the Change

Homeland Security officials frame the rule differently. They say it simply restores a decades-old legal principle that immigrants who come to the United States should not become dependent on government support. The administration has pointed to language in immigration law that has long allowed officials to weigh self-sufficiency when deciding who gets to stay.

A Pattern That Keeps Repeating

This fight is not new. A nearly identical Trump-era public charge rule from 2019 sparked lawsuits from multiple states and immigrant groups, was blocked by courts, and was eventually withdrawn under the Biden administration. Legal aid groups and researchers found that confusion over the earlier rule caused a “chilling effect,” with about one in seven adults in immigrant families avoiding benefits like Medicaid or food stamps out of fear it would hurt their immigration status.

Zohran Mamdani announces that NYC and other local governments had filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump admin over its new “public charge” rule pic.twitter.com/T8gOIlUrPq

It's simple. The Trump administration says the people seeking permanent residence shouldn't be expected to…

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) September 14, 2026

That chilling effect showed up even among people not directly covered by the rule, including families with mixed immigration status. One analysis found nearly 25% of adults in mixed-status households avoided safety net programs over green card fears. Whether this new 2026 rule triggers the same pattern will likely depend on how courts rule before the September 18 effective date.