This toolkit is designed to assist education and outreach workers presenting public charge information to immigrant community members. Some of the materials in the toolkit have a California focus or include California-specific details, but all materials remain useful for a national audience. Our goal is to spread accurate information about what public charge is and who is impacted by it, to help reverse the chilling effect from the Trump public charge rule which is no longer in effect.
We hope that these resources will enable community organizations to provide clear, accessible information in community forums and other community events so that immigrants can make informed decisions about public benefits for themselves and their families.
On September 9, 2022, DHS published a new rule on public charge that is set to take effect on December 23, 2022. Until then, USCIS is following longstanding guidance from 1999. If litigation is filed against the rule, the effective date may change. Please check the ILRC’s public charge page at https://www.ilrc.org/public-charge for updates. Notwithstanding announcement of the new rule, the information in this resource is current and continues to apply.