- On Monday, two separate groups filed suit here in Massachusetts to stop yet another unconscionable move by the Trump Administration. The latest attack from the administration, announced last week, would change the rules of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and strip eligibility for those whose work includes supporting undocumented immigrants or transgender rights for children. Massachusetts joined 19 other states in filing the first suit, while the plaintiffs in the second suit include the City of Boston along with other cities, non profits, and labor organizations.
- On Tuesday, a federal judge in Rhode Island issued a permanent injunction blocking the administration from tying billions of dollars in transportation funding to increased immigration enforcement requirements. In April, Secretary of Transportation (and former reality television star) Sean Duffy issued a letter to states demanding that they cooperate with the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts, including restricting the issuance of driver’s licenses to undocumented residents, as a condition of receiving grants from the Department of Transportation. 20 states, including MA, quickly filed suit to block this move. In issuing this week’s decision, the judge found that the administration “exceeded their statutory authority”, acted in a manner that is “patently arbitrary and capricious”, and the attempt to tie transportation funding to immigration enforcement “blatantly violates the Spending Clause”.
- Advocates discovered this week that USCIS has submitted a new Public Charge rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review. As many of you may remember, during the first Trump Administration, USCIS had tried to rewrite the Public Charge rules to add more hurdles to the immigration process while sowing fear throughout our communities. While this new rule could move quickly through the approval process, it is important to know that nothing has changed yet and no one should be forgoing public assistance. Once the new rule is published in the Federal Register, it will trigger a public comment period. Having been through this once before during the prior Trump Administration, advocates are prepared to mobilize public resistance to these continuing attacks on our families.
- Last week, the administration announced dramatic changes to the Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program (SAVE), a national database used to verify immigrant status and eligibility for certain public benefits. Some of these changes have actually been in effect for months, long before the administration posted the public notice. DHS will now include native-born US citizens in the database and expand the information collected on each individual to include their US passport numbers and driver’s license numbers. In addition, the use of SAVE will be expanded to include voter verification and eligibility for a driver’s license.