Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that the Trump administration may proceed with the expansion of “public charge” throughout most of the United States while legal challenges to the policy continue in federal courts. The ruling lifted the last of three nationwide injunctions which had paused the implementation of the rule. A statewide injunction in Illinois remains in effect.

National Immigrant Justice Center’s Executive Director Mary Meg McCarthy issued the following statement:

“Allowing the Trump administration’s expansion of poverty- and disability-based barriers to lawful immigration status to take effect while lawsuits against the policy drag on in the courts will put thousands of American families at risk of permanent separation and severe financial insecurity. We are disappointed in today’s Supreme Court ruling and very worried what it will mean for the families we represent outside of Illinois, who will be impacted by the new rules. We are hopeful that the injunction currently in place in Illinois will continue to stand, as it was not disturbed by today’s ruling, and was not a nationwide injunction. The National Immigrant Justice Center will continue to work with partners in the Protecting Immigrant Families coalition to help communities understand their rights and do whatever they can to protect their loved ones.”