Do you want to make sure that all Texas moms get the prenatal care they need for healthy pregnancies and healthy babies?
Do you want to make sure that all Texas kids have a chance to see the doctor and grow up healthy?
Do you want to make sure that Texas kids come home from school trusting that they will get dinner that night?
If the answers are yes, then we urge you to express your concerns to the Trump administration about its new proposed "public charge" rule.
Background on the "Public Charge" Rule
If it goes into effect, the administration's new rule would make it harder for legal immigrants to get a green card if they have used Medicaid, SNAP food stamps, housing vouchers, or Medicare's prescription drug low-income subsidy. These programs play a critical role in keeping families and communities healthy, particularly at a time when so many jobs provide low pay and no insurance and medical costs can be prohibitively expensive for children with disabilities and other Texans.
Immigration experts are also deeply concerned that the rule would make a radical, historic shift by largely blocking legal immigration for lower and middle-income families.
A Threat to Texas Kids and Families
There have been many reports over the last year that immigrant families are pulling their U.S. citizen children out of CHIP, Medicaid, and other programs because they are afraid of possible consequences from immigration authorities.
This proposed rule would amp up the fear and confusion, scaring more families into avoiding health care and other services for their kids — even though the current version of the proposal does NOT penalize parents for enrolling their children in programs.
And if we don't speak up, it could even get worse. The administration is asking the public for comments on whether CHIP should be included in the rule.
If CHIP is included, it would likely penalize Texas moms for getting prenatal care through CHIP Perinatal, creating an impossible choice: Do I try to keep my family together or do I try to keep myself and my baby healthy?
Raise Your Voice
Congress will not get to vote on this rule, but the administration is accepting public comments on it until December 10th.
This website is set up to make it easy for you to submit your comments: