A coalition of cities and counties filed a federal lawsuit on September 14 challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s new public charge rule, adding a fresh court fight just days before the rule is scheduled to take effect.
New York City announced that it filed the case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York with Chicago, the City and County of San Francisco, Santa Clara County, Seattle, King County, Washington, and the Public Rights Project. The city’s announcement links to the filed complaint and says a separate challenge led by the New York attorney general was filed alongside it.
The municipal coalition argues that DHS unlawfully broadened how public benefits can be considered in public charge determinations and left immigration officers with excessive discretion. Those are allegations in the lawsuit, not findings by the court.
The underlying DHS final rule, published in the Federal Register on July 20, rescinds the 2022 public charge regulations and is scheduled to take effect September 18, 2026. DHS says the change restores broader discretion for officers to consider pertinent facts when deciding whether an applicant is likely at any time to become a public charge.
The filing of the lawsuit does not by itself suspend the rule. New York City’s September 14 announcement states that the rule is still expected to take effect on September 18. Any change to that timeline would require further court action or another government action.
TR Immigration previously explained what the September 18 public charge change does. The new litigation now puts the rule’s implementation before a federal court days before its effective date.
