Protect American Values Act of 2026

immigrants and their families are a core part of this Nation;

their health and safety is critical to the health and safety of our communities;

Federal, State, and local assistance programs promote self-sufficiency by ensuring that families, including immigrant and mixed-status families, maintain their health, strength, and stability, and can continue contributing to this Nation's social and economic life;

the rule of the Department of Homeland Security entitled “Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility” is a dangerous policy that will impede access to essential food, medical care, and housing for many families, while injecting severe uncertainty and arbitrariness for immigrants adjusting to lawful permanent resident status;

the rule would damage State and local economies while burdening health and service providers, and the Department of Homeland Security itself, in the preamble of the proposed rule, acknowledges the severe consequences of this proposal including that it could have, “downstream and upstream impacts on State and local economies, large and small businesses, and individuals”, would “increase the poverty of certain families and children, including U.S. [C]itizen children”, and “may lead to downstream effects on public health, community stability, and resilience” including “[w]orse health outcomes, such as increased prevalence of obesity and malnutrition”, “[h]igher prevalence of communicable diseases”, and “[i]ncreased rates of uncompensated care”; and

the rule would circumvent Congress and reverse over 140 years of law and policy, restricting immigration and chilling access to services for which immigrants and their United States citizen family members are eligible, in a manner not authorized or contemplated by Congress.