6:53 p.m. ET, April 24, 2020
Supreme Court denies states’ request to suspend "public charge" rule for immigrants
From CNN's Ariane de Vogue
The Supreme Court denied a request Friday from New York and other states to block the Trump administration’s controversial “public charge” rule during the pandemic.
The rule makes it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they use public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers.
Earlier in the term, a 5-4 court said the rule could go into effect nationwide while legal challenges played out, but the states had asked the justices to reconsider that decision given the implications of the virus.
The court denied the request with no noted dissents, but the justices did indicate the states could ask district courts for relief.
Some context: New York, Connecticut, Vermont and New York City had filed one petition asking the justices to block the rule nationwide, arguing that while they are trying to stop the spread of Covid-19, the government’s rule is deterring some immigrants from accessing health care and public benefits that are “essential tools for protecting the public at large” by limiting the “spread and severity” of the virus.
“Such narrow and temporary relief” is warranted, New York Attorney General Letitia James argued.
In the petition, James provided examples of the impact of the rule on immigrants.
“A physician in Connecticut has spoken with patients who had symptoms consistent with Covid-19,” James wrote, “but were afraid to obtain COVID-19 testing or seek treatment due to concerns about the Public Charge Rule and fears that they could not afford to pay for treatment.”
She said the unwillingness for immigrants to come forward jeopardized their safety but also the public at large.