The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today that it will post the proposed public charge rule in the Federal Register on Wednesday, October 10. This will formally open the public comment period on the rule, which will last until December 10.
This is the most important period for WIC staff to engage on this issue. DHS specifically requests feedback on the question of whether to include ANY public benefit program in a public charge determination. NWA members must forcefully reject this proposal and demand the explicit exclusion of WIC from any rule. Further, members must share with DHS the public health reasons that including programs like Medicaid and SNAP in a public charge determination is the wrong action to take. NWA is here to help you do this!
Please join us for a webinar on Wednesday, October 10, at 1:00 pm ET (registration required). We will discuss exactly what is in the proposed rule and how NWA members can submit public comments. NWA will also be providing model comments that members can customize.
We also wish to share new Spanish and Chinese translations of our updated Frequently Asked Questions document for WIC families.
As a reminder, you can find resources on public charge on the Immigration Resources page of the NWA website. Do not hesitate to contact Brian Dittmeier at bdittmeier@nwica.org or Ali Hard at ahard@nwica.org with any questions or to share updates on how public charge is impacting your work.