Funders oppose DHS rule harming immigrant children.
Public Charge
On December 19, 2025, the Foundation for Child Development (FCD) and three partner funders submitted a public comment opposing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s proposal to sharply reduce the use of core public supports such as health, nutrition, child care, and many others, for children—particularly citizen children—in immigrant families. As funders deeply committed to children and knowledgeable about the importance of these supports to their development, we had important research and field knowledge to contribute to the conversation about the enormous damage this policy would do to children and to America’s future. Our comment is part of the public record that the Administration will be required to review in finalizing the rule, and if they fail to consider it and thousands of others like it, then it could be helpful in litigation requiring them to pay attention to the evidence before they act.
Specifically, the DHS proposed to rescind the interpretation, in effect for decades and codified in regulations in 2022, of the so-called “public charge” rule. The DHS proposal allows an immigration officer to deny a parent’s green-card application, even years later, if anyone in the household uses public supports. This places parents in the impossible position of choosing between their child’s current wellbeing and the potential for family separation years down the line.
This proposal ends the long-standing approach codified in the 2022 rule. That earlier approach provided clear guardrails. It identified just two specific benefits that could count in a public charge determination: cash assistance or long-term care at government expense, and only if those are the primary sources of support. The rule also clarified that benefits received by family members, including US-citizen children, do not count against a green card applicant.
The Department of Homeland Security now proposes to eliminate the 2022 rule. This would explicitly remove the guardrails and clear guidance on public charge determinations. The agency says all these decisions should be left to immigration officers. This uncertainty would create widespread confusion and fear. As a result, harmful “chilling effects” could lead millions,largely citizen children, to forgo critical safety-net programs, even when they are eligible for those supports.
The consequences are profoundly grim for children, for fragile service systems—such as child care and community health programs—and ultimately for the country. That’s because extensive research, including studies supported by the Foundation, shows that chilling effects reduce families’ access to health care, housing supports, early care and education, and K-12 education. When families forgo these critical supports, children’s health, development, and educational outcomes suffer, and families, communities, and public systems are destabilized. Ending the 2022 rule would undermine children’s long-term success and weaken our nation’s future workforce and overall economic health.
For these reasons, FCD argued that DHS immediately withdraw the proposal and maintain the 2022 public charge rules. We will be working with our partners to closely monitor the Administration’s next steps and will continue to respond together with our research, organizing, litigation, advocacy, and philanthropic partners.