The Supreme Court reversed itself June 15, deciding it was wrong when it previously agreed to hear an appeal by 13 states to defend the so-called public charge rule that screens out potentially government-dependent immigrants, after the Biden administration declined to do so.
The public charge rule, which had fallen into disuse, was revived by the Trump administration in 2019, over vehement left-wing opposition. The rule allows the U.S. government to reject would-be immigrants who were deemed likely to consume public benefits such as food stamps, housing aid, and Medicaid.
Critics claim the extensively litigated pro-taxpayer rule is xenophobic and discriminates against poor aliens, but the public-charge principle—the idea that immigrants should have to prove they can survive without becoming wards of the government—has been part of the American experience for centuries….