FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19th, 2025
Contact: Ruben Torres, Advocacy and Policy Manager
rtorres@maineimmigrantrights.org
Statement from the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition on DHS’s Proposed Public Charge Rule
PORTLAND, MAINE – The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (MIRC) is deeply concerned by today’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposing to rescind the current 2022 public charge regulations and replace them with a significantly broader and more discretionary framework.
The draft released for public inspection makes clear that DHS intends to strip away the clear definitions and guardrails that have protected families, health providers, and community organizations from arbitrary, inconsistent, and politically influenced decision-making. The proposal would remove standards for ‘public charge’ determinations and allow DHS to consider any health care, nutrition, or social service program without specifying which ones. It also opens the door to weighing highly personal characteristics, medical conditions, or family circumstances, including the past or current benefit use of U.S. citizen children.
The new rule would rewrite the terms of citizenship and deny taxpayers access to taxpayer-funded benefits. When the government penalizes people for using the very programs their tax dollars fund, it sets a precedent that threatens all taxpayers, immigrant and non-immigrant alike.
A similarly struck down public charge rule from 2020 caused widespread confusion and deterred millions of people, including U.S. citizens, from accessing essential services for which they were legally eligible. The resulting “chilling effect” harmed families, strained local safety-net providers, and undermined public health. Policies that drive families away from health care and basic services hurt Maine’s economic resilience and the well-being of our communities as a whole.
“Maine’s immigrant communities already navigate complex systems to meet basic needs. Policies that inject uncertainty and fear into the process only deepen existing barriers to stability, health care, and economic opportunity,” said Mufalo Chitam, MIRC Executive Director.
“This rule tells working taxpayers: we will take your tax dollars, but we may punish you if you ever need the basic services those dollars fund. It invites a future where any American could be punished for needing the programs they help sustain, and that should alarm every taxpayer in this country,” said Ruben Torres, MIRC Advocacy and Policy Manager
The proposal will be formally published in the Federal Register on November 19. Members of the public can submit comments regarding the rule for 30 days after its publication. MIRC will be submitting a formal comment and working closely with partners across the state to ensure immigrant communities have accurate information during this process.
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