Mamdani announces lawsuit against a Trump immigration rule on public benefits
:: New York / September 14, 2026
:: Mayor Zohran Mamdani, (D) New York
“Just last month, the federal government finalized a set of drastic and unlawful changes to our country’s public charge rule, a rule that makes it possible for someone to be denied immigration status based on the likelihood of their need for public benefits. Set to go into effect this coming Friday, September 18th. The new public charge rule expands the list of public benefits that might count against green card or visa applicants. // Make no mistake, this is an undisguised effort to strip New Yorkers of the services they rely on, the public benefits they are entitled to. //That is why today we are confronting this injustice with the solidarity and action that it demands. New York City is leading a coalition of cities and counties including Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Clara County and King County to sue the federal government for the gross illegality of their new public charge rule and the irreparable damage that it will cause. We are filing our lawsuit alongside a separate challenge led by Attorney General James.”
In two lawsuits filed in Manhattan federal court, the states and local governments challenged a federal rule set to take effect on Friday that says people applying to become lawful permanent residents should not be “public charges” who are primarily dependent on government benefits.
The Department of Homeland Security rule was announced in July. It revives a policy adopted in 2019 during the Republican president’s first term in office that was abandoned under Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, which in 2022 adopted a narrower definition of who would be a “public charge.”
The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under U.S. law, immigration officials have long been allowed to deem people inadmissible if they determine they would likely become “public charges” who would primarily depend on the government for support.
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