Texas attorney general Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration on Thursday, alleging that its new rule for immigrants that relaxed the definition of “public charge” to exclude reliance on government benefits is further undermining border enforcement amid record illegal crossings.
Filed in a U.S. District Court in Victoria, the lawsuit targets President Biden, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and other officials, claiming they want to further their “open borders policy by enacting a new agency rule that effectively nullifies federal law excluding aliens likely to become public charges.”
The Trump administration tightened green card restrictions to make permanent immigration more challenging to secure for Green Card applicants who received public benefits, such as Medicaid, housing vouchers, and food stamps, in the past.
Last year, the Biden administration halted enforcement of the regulation and last month imposed a new version modeled off the 1999 “public charge” standard, which defined it as someone who is “primarily dependent on the government for subsistence,” via public cash assistance for income maintenance or institutionalization for long-term care at government expense.
The Biden administration’s reversal means dependence on non-cash benefits like food stamps, health services, and transportation vouchers won’t be factored into green-card eligibility.
“Under this proposed rule, we will return to the historical understanding of the term ‘public charge’ and individuals will not be penalized for choosing to access the health benefits and other supplemental government services available to them,” Mayorkas said in a February statement unveiling the proposal.
Paxton petitioned the courts to block implementation of the new Biden rule, which it claims broke the law by rescinding the Trump-era rule. Texas has leveled litigation against the Biden administration many times in the last couple years, mostly involving the border crisis. The state is part of a Republican coalition appealing to maintain Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allows for the expulsion of illegal immigrants to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.
“I’ve sued Biden over a dozen times to secure our southern border,” Paxton tweeted on Thursday. “I’ll keep suing & winning until he & his lawless Dems follow the law.”