Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City and Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago are leading a coalition of cities and counties suing the Trump administration over its reinstated “public charge” rule, which makes legal immigrants less likely to obtain green cards if they’ve used welfare benefits such as subsidized healthcare, food stamps, or public housing.
The Trump administration reimposed the rule in July. Mamdani announced the lawsuit at a press conference Monday, arguing it would discourage immigrants from seeking medical care or benefits they’re legally owed.
The new public charge rule seeks to push immigrant families away from the programs that have kept people fed and healthy for decades … that fear will not stop at the families that the federal government is targeting. Families who remain fully eligible for benefits will feel a chilling effect, and all New Yorkers will pay for it. New York City is proud to lead a coalition of cities and counties — Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Clara County, Seattle, King County and the Public Rights Project — standing firmly against this cruel and unlawful rule. Our immigrant communities are not a burden. They are the people who make New York City and country great. We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure they can continue to live here with dignity and without fear.
Johnson echoed the message in a separate statement, framing the rule as a threat to Chicago residents.
Chicago will not stand by while the federal government forces immigrant families to choose between putting food on the table, taking their children to the doctor, or protecting their ability to remain in this country. This rule is not only cruel, it is unlawful, and it threatens the health and safety of our entire city. More than half a million Chicagoans were born outside the United States. They are our neighbors and an essential part of who we are. Chicago has fought these attacks before, and, alongside New York and cities across the country, we will fight them again. We will use every tool available to protect our immigrant communities and defend their right to live with dignity and without fear.
The coalition suing the administration includes New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Clara County, King County, and the Public Rights Project.
The lawsuit arrives as data from the Center for Immigration Studies shows a wide gap in welfare use between immigrant and citizen households. Between 2021 and 2025, about 47 percent of immigrant-headed households used at least one traditional welfare program, compared with 28 percent of citizen-headed households — a 19-point difference.
The case, New York City v. DHS, No. 1:26-cv-07982, is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
