The Supreme Court announced they will not issue a decision on the legality of a controversial Trump administration immigration policy after an agreement by the Biden administration and states and groups challenging it. The agreement comes amid the Biden administration’s reconsideration of the “public charge rule”. The Biden administration has been scrambling to undo much of the Trump administration immigration policies. The new administration recently dismissed high court appeals over former President Donald Trump’s effort to deny funding to so-called sanctuary communities. The SCOTUS justices, at the administration’s request, also put off cases they had agreed to hear over the funding of portions of the wall along the border with Mexico and the policy of forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their hearings
The high court had in late February agreed to hear a Trump administration appeal of a lower court ruling against the public charge rule. The policy allows the denial of permanent residency status to immigrants because of their use of food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers or other public benefits. The justices had agreed to hear the case even as President Joe Biden called for a review of the rule. On Tuesday, however, the Biden administration withdrew the appeal, saying all parties involved agreed to dismiss the case. This effectively paves the way for the trump version of the policy to no longer be enforced. Previously, the Supreme Court had divided 5-4 over allowing the policy to take effect while the legal challenge continued.
Under the Trump administration policy, applicants for green cards had to show they wouldn’t be burdens to the country or “public charges.” Federal law already required those seeking permanent residency or legal status to prove they wouldn’t be a “public charge.” But the Trump administration rule included a wider range of programs that could disqualify them. The Biden administration on Tuesday essentially stopped enforcing the 2019 “public charge” restrictions on green cards.
