Santa Clara County attorney James R. Williams and San Francisco city attorney David Chiu announced Thursday that they have voluntarily terminated their lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's "public charge" rule, after they it no longer exists and cannot be resurrected.
It was during 2019 that Santa Clara County and the City and County of San Francisco filed the first lawsuit in the nation to block the Trump-era rule, which would have instituted a wealth test for immigrants entering the United States or going through the naturalization process, while at the same time instilling fear in immigrant communities that discouraged them from participating in civic life or public benefit programs.
The action marks the successful conclusion of a four-year legal battle through which Santa Clara County and San Francisco blocked the Trump Administration's public charge rule.
Since Santa Clara County and San Francisco filed their lawsuit in 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in their favor by blocking the rule from going into effect.
The Biden Administration rescinded the rule when he took office; while the US Supreme Court denied an Arizona-led coalition's attempt to uphold the rule; and, in separate but similar litigation, the Supreme Court declined to review a Seventh Circuit decision blocking the rule's enforcement nationwide.
“We were the first to stand up in court and say that the Trump Administration's public charge rule was not only deeply harmful to our immigrant communities, but flat out illegal. And we have been vindicated at every turn," said Santa Clara County Attorney James R. Williams.
In turn, he pointed out that they will maintain their attention and resources to protect residents from racist and xenophobic attacks.
“We are and always will be committed to advancing health, well-being, dignity, and equity in all of our communities, including our immigrant communities. The government at all levels must support and protect families, not marginalize or villainize them," he stressed.
For his part, the attorney for the city of San Francisco, David Chiu, assured that “immigrant communities can be sure that the public charge rule has been defeated in court and rescinded by the Biden Administration.”
“No one should be afraid to seek the assistance and programs they need. In San Francisco, Santa Clara County, and throughout California, we will continue to honor our legacy of welcoming immigrants of all origins and fight any attempts to institute a wealth test for citizenship," Chiu said. "We took this fight all the way to the Supreme Court and I'm delighted to say we won."
And it is that, under the Trump administration, the US Department of Homeland Security announced in 2019 a rule on “Inadmissibility for public charge reasons” that would have changed almost 140 years of legal precedent.
The Trump Administration sought to radically expand the grounds on which a person could be considered a "public charge" and therefore denied a green card? or entry into the United States. By design, the rule would have forced people to resign or withdraw from critical public benefits and care.
Thus, Santa Clara County and the city and county of San Francisco jointly filed the first case in the nation challenging the Trump-era rule.
The counties were later joined by various coalitions that also challenged the rule, including groups led by the states of California, Washington, and New York; Cook County, Illinois; Baltimore, Maryland; the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; and Do the Camino New York.
In October 2019, Santa Clara County and San Francisco obtained a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump Administration from implementing its rule. Courts across the country, including the United States Courts of Appeals for the Ninth, Seventh and Second Circuits, unanimously agreed that the Trump-era rule was illegal and barred its implementation.
Notably, the Supreme Court was asked on three separate occasions to reconsider these legal victories, and each time the Court left them in place.
The Trump Administration sought review of the 9th Circuit decision in the US Supreme Court, but in March 2021 the Biden Administration's Justice Department dropped the case, announcing that the administration would not implement Trump's rule.
The Supreme Court then considered whether a coalition of states led by Arizona should have been allowed to intervene to defend the Trump-era government after the inauguration of President Biden.
But in June 2022, Santa Clara County, San Francisco, and the states led by California and Washington persuaded the Supreme Court to throw out their writ of writ of certiorari for being granted without foresight, again leaving the Ninth's decision intact. Circuit.
Ultimately, while Santa Clara County, San Francisco and the other plaintiffs prevailed in court, the Biden Administration removed the Trump-era rule from the Code of Federal Regulations and adopted a new public charge rule that complies with federal law. immigration and counties.
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.
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