When SCOTUS fast-tracked the #PublicCharge rule in Jan, 5 justices ignored the inevitable consequences: countless #immigrants & US citizens avoiding healthcare.
Then came #COVID19.
Now NYS, NYC, VT & CT demand DHS pause this policy.
Full motion:
1/
law360.com/immigration/ar…
Quick background: The entire premise of the #PublicCharge rule is to scare people *who are eligible for healthcare programs & other benefits* into disenrolling, for fear that they or their #immigrant family members will get into trouble down the road.
2/
That's a grisly policy during the best of times, and it's psychopathic during a pandemic.
From the state AGs: The last thing we need right now is anyone—including US citizens—to avoid getting testing & treatment for #COVID19. This will cost lives.
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As predicted in thousands of previous public comments & court filings, "widespread fear & confusion" about #PublicCharge are driving many people to "forgo *any* publicly funded health coverage"—even if they are 100% eligible.
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The AGs have assembled hundreds of pages of new evidence that the #PublicCharge rule is impeding #COVID19 testing & treatment.
Here are some examples, which we can only hope are taken seriously by 1 or more of the 5 SCOTUS justices who ignored these concerns pre-pandemic.
5/
The AGs also dispense with the fiction that DHS has done anything to improve the situation; the agency's anemic alert on #COVID19 & #PublicCharge has just caused more fear & confusion.
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We should all be grateful that @NewYorkStateAG @nycgov @WilliamTongCT & @VTAttorneyGen are demanding SCOTUS suspend #PublicCharge & save lives during the #COVID19 emergency.
Will pure self-preservation—let alone reason or justice—triumph over ideology?
7/7
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