By Jonathan Salazar, M.Ed.
Senior Policy Analyst
September 22, 2026

New Mexicans have long recognized that every child is worth investing in and that every child deserves the opportunity to grow up healthy, receive quality care, learn and thrive, regardless of their or their family’s citizenship status. That belief has been at the heart of many of the groundbreaking, bold, child-centered policies the state has enacted in recent years. 

New Mexico lawmakers have long recognized the state’s persistently high child poverty rates. In 2022, they enacted a refundable Child Tax Credit designed to ease the burden of rising costs and put more money into the hands of working families. When federal changes made health insurance less affordable, New Mexico created a health coverage affordability program for low-income DACA recipients to help reduce monthly premium costs and maintain access to coverage. And when federal policy changes restricted access to public benefits for immigrant families who had previously been eligible, New Mexico backfilled funding for SNAP and Medicaid to help protect essential services for refugees, asylees and other New Mexico families and children with lawfully present immigrant caregivers. 

Now, the reach and impact of the many investments New Mexico’s leaders have made to support immigrant communities, families and children are threatened by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) final “public charge” regulation, which went into effect Friday, Sept. 18.

What is a public charge?

A public charge is a determination made by the federal government that a person undergoing certain immigration processes is “likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence.” This determination is typically made for people seeking lawful permanent residency and does not apply to immigrants with refugee, asylee or other humanitarian-based immigration statuses. Click here for a comprehensive list of who is subject to the public charge determination.

The new rule gives Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers broader discretion to consider the use of public benefits when deciding whether to deny certain immigrants’ applications for lawful permanent residency or adjustment of status. The rule may also affect certain other immigration processes, including applications for S visas and diversity visas. Applicants can be deemed a “public charge” based on their use or past use of certain means-tested benefits, including Medicaid and SNAP, or simply for claiming tax credits for which they are eligible. 

By putting immigration applications at risk, the rule threatens families’ ability to work legally or remain in the United States, leaving some New Mexico children vulnerable to greater economic insecurity, family separation and loss of access to food and health care. 

How is this rule different from previous public charge rules? 

The public charge policy is not new; it has existed in U.S. immigration law for more than 140 years. However, the current administration’s new rule differs from previous versions in five key ways:  

  1. Removes a clear definition and guidance for determining who may be considered a “public charge.” 
  2. Expands the benefits that may be considered to include means-tested public benefits, without providing a clear, defined list of which benefits may affect an applicant’s immigration application or be considered in a public charge determination. 
  3. Allows benefits received by family members to be indirectly considered when assessing an applicant’s overall financial circumstances, even though those benefits are not directly counted as benefits received by the applicant. 
  4. Removes regulatory guardrails, potentially leading to confusion, inconsistent decisions and a chilling effect among immigrant families. A chilling effect means that even when immigrant families can safely access a benefit or service, they may choose not to do so because they fear immigration-related repercussions. 
  5. Eliminates the ability to appeal a public charge determination, making the decision final. 

Bottom line: By failing to clearly define which benefits may or may not be considered, the new rule creates confusion and could have a chilling effect, instilling fear among immigrant families who are unsure whether the rule applies to them and how it could affect their access to benefits and services.

Means-Tested Public* Benefits That May** Be Considered
  • Cash assistance 
  • Medicaid or other government funded health coverage
  • SNAP 
  • Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) 
  • Rental Assistance 
  • Free or sliding-scale care at federally qualified health centers or family planning clinics
  • WIC 
  • Headstart 
  • Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit 
  • Financial aid for postsecondary education
  • Other federal, state, Tribal, territorial, or local means-tested benefits

Source: “Public Charge Restrictions For Immigrants And Their Families: No Rules, No Accountability,” Health Affairs, September 3, 2026.
*To be considered a benefit must be means-tested (benefit eligibility is based on income or assets falling below a threshold) and public (provided by a government agency or from appropriated funds)
** The list is not exhaustive as the guidance does not name specific programs

How will this impact families in New Mexico? 

First, the rule could disproportionately affect low- and middle-income New Mexico families, particularly those seeking lawful permanent residency who rely on public benefits to afford food, health care, education, housing and other basic needs. 

Second, the rule may discourage families from accessing essential support for which they or their children are eligible. Fear and confusion could lead immigrant caregivers to disenroll from nutrition, health and other support programs, affecting children of all immigration statuses. This could include children who are eligible for public benefits and families who are not undergoing a public charge determination. Reduced access to these programs could increase the risk of food insecurity, poorer health outcomes and unmet basic needs. 

Finally, the rule places greater emphasis on financial resources in immigration determinations, potentially overlooking the contributions of low-wage immigrant workers and families. It could also contribute to inconsistent application of immigration policies across differences in race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender and other characteristics. 

What can New Mexico do?

  1. Become informed about what “public charge” means and who is and is not subject to the rule. Remember that the public charge rule does not apply to everyone. 
  2. Refer immigrant community members to immigration attorneys or other trusted legal resources, like the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, that can provide individualized advice and help them determine whether the public charge rule applies to their specific circumstances.
  3. Stay connected with local community-based organizations for ongoing guidance, resources, and support
  4. Stay up-to-date with the latest updates on public charge including the recent federal lawsuit against the new public charge rule 
  5. Reach out to your members of Congress and urge them to support H.R.10045 – Protect American Values Act which would prohibit the use of any federal funds to implement, administer, enforce, or carry out the new public charge rule 

Additional Resources 

  1. Public Charge Applicability Tables (NILC) 
  2. 2026 DHS Public Charge Rule FAQ (NILC & PIF) 
  3. Public Charge: What Advocates Need to Know 
  4. Public Benefits for Immigrants: A Guide for Practitioners