NDY Files Public Comment on Proposed “Public Charge” Rule Change

On December 7, NDY joined many other national disability organizations (e.g. NCIL, ASAN, AAPD) by filing our own public comment against a proposed rule change by the Department of Homeland Security. The rule change would significantly ratchet up the obstacles to lawful immigration facing people with disabilities, including children, seniors and the families who love them. Comments are due Monday and can be filed online at the government website.

Below are some potential scenarios described by attorney Lisa Blumberg, who took the lead in developing NDY’s public comment.

[The proposed rule change] “would interfere with family members helping each other in the way that strong families often do. For example, a family of modest means whose members have contributed to the country for years might not be able to invite an elderly or disabled relative still in their country of origin to live with them. This could be so even though they have no thought of looking to the government for assistance. Indeed they may even be counting on the relative to provide afterschool childcare so that both parents would feel comfortable about working full-time. The proposed rule could also be used to bar a newly graduated engineer with spina bifida or another physical limitation from entering or staying in the country because at some point in the future she may apply for a Medicaid waiver to get in-home support so she can work until retirement age.”

“For instance, the presence of a medical condition considered ‘likely’ to require extensive medical treatment or institutionalization, or that may interfere with the ability to provide for oneself, or to attend school or work, would be considered a heavily weighed negative factor. Conclusions could differ widely as to whether this factor is present, for example, in the case of a person with moderate cerebral palsy with entry level bookkeeping skills who currently has no general health problems. As most people with disabilities can attest to, prejudice against people with disabilities is extremely prevalent and medical predictions about the future can be notoriously inaccurate.”

To read the whole comment, please go here.

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