Merkley, Wyden, Blumenauer, Bonamici Push Trump Administration to Suspend Public Charge Rule Amid Dual Crises Of COVID-19 and Wildfires Press Release | Friday, September 25, 2020 Families, children, and seniors struggling amid unprecedented wildfire season and coronavirus crisis should not be punished for seeking emergency assistance
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, are pushing the Trump administration to suspend the public charge rule—which can jeopardize an individual’s path to obtaining a visa or green card if they access public services—to ensure that all Oregonians impacted by the wildfires and the coronavirus are able to seek necessary care and emergency assistance. “In response to the devastation caused by the wildfires in Oregon, it is imperative that you suspend the public charge rule in its entirety. While disaster relief is technically exempt from the rule’s scope, the rule has had harmful and widespread chilling effects that have led families to avoid seeking the services and coverage they need for fear of jeopardizing their immigration status, even when such services are not included in the
Red fire retardant dropped during the Almeda Fire covers the charred remnants of a mobile home and vehicles in Phoenix, Oregon.
status, at a time when communities were already struggling to make it through the coronavirus crisis. “The wildfires in Oregon and the coronavirus pandemic are unprecedented converging crises. A rule that creates barriers to immigrant families’ safety and recovery during a period of unparalleled destruction is not only counterproductive, it is cruel and discriminatory. For this reason, we request an immediate moratorium on any enforcement related to the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds rule during Oregon’s wildfire response and subsequent recovery. We also request your agencies issue robust and targeted public notices that alleviate fear and confusion regarding this rule during the time noted above,” they continued. The full text of the lawmakers’ letter is available here on the following page.
rule’s scope or when they themselves are not subject to a public charge determination. As a result, the rule could discourage immigrant families from seeking disaster assistance, medical care, and other critical services needed to weather these concurrent crises,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Kenneth Cuccinelli, who, according to a federal judge’s ruling, was illegally appointed Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) after the Trump administration violated a federal vacancies law. In their letter, the lawmakers emphasized that wildfires continue to ravage the state—fires that have displaced thousands of people, destroyed millions of dollars in property and scenic areas, exposed millions of people to hazardous smoke, and introduced new barriers to food and medical assistance for children and seniors. These impacts have affected Oregonians irrespective of their immigration
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The Business Review | September 2020
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