End of Public Charge!

“We are One Nation, we are out in force … the energy of this day will live on because we WILL beat this onerous pubic charge!” – Sherry Hirota, CEO, Asian Health Services

Public charge applies to someone who cannot support themselves and depends on the government for cash benefits; under the Trump Administration the current pubic charge rule was expanded to include additional benefits, making it much more difficult for low-income immigrants to enter the United States. On March 9, 2021, the multi-year battle to overturn the public charge expanded rule came to an end as the Supreme Court of the United States complied with the Biden Administration’s request to dismiss public charge permanently. This victory for our immigrant communities comes after many public rallying cries.

On Tuesday, August 27, 2019 Alameda Health Consortium joined our member health centers, the One Nation Movement, elected officials, and other community partners to vehemently protest the Trump-era public charge rule that was creating unnecessary and cruel barriers for immigrants seeking to obtain legal status. This day of unity showcased that we are stronger together and that we were willing to do everything in our combined power to ensure that the public charge rule would not become permanent under our watch.

By joining forces with our partners, stakeholders, and policy makers, we exhibited the power of what can happen when we stand united in the firm belief of what we know to be right. We want to give a special thank you to Sherry Hirota, CEO of Asian Health Services and co-chair of the One Nation Movement, and to Jane Garcia, CEO of La Clínica for being the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against the Trump Administration; your bravery and your fierce advocacy are part of the reason we were able to present such a united force against public charge.

There are still several states that are fighting to reinstate and defend the validity of public charge, and for that reason we remain ever vigilant to continue to fight for our community members.

Click images below to view a gallery of our August 27 One Nation rally.