Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined colleagues this week to urge a federal court to uphold an initiative of the Biden administration intended to make it easier for legal immigrants to access Medicaid and other federal programs. [Health News Illinois] 

The 17 attorneys general wrote in a brief to the Southern District of Texas that the administration’s changes to the so-called “public charge” rules will support states in their efforts to get immigrants and their families to enroll in and access health and nutrition programs for which they are eligible.

They said it will help improve immunization rates and reduce the financial and administrative burden on states’ public health agencies, health systems and safety-net providers.

“Everyone, regardless of where they are born, deserves the right to critical healthcare and housing programs,” Raoul said in a statement. “I urge the court to uphold these policy changes to ensure hardworking immigrants and their families have access to the programs that protect their well-being.”

The Biden administration announced the rule in 2022, restoring the public charge policy to what it was before former President Donald Trump, whose administration moved to make it easier for the federal government to deny immigrants green cards if they receive government benefits.

 Texas has sued over the Biden administration’s rule, requesting the court block its enforcement.

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