Report on the Harms of Public Charge (2022)
The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) collaborated with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to design and conduct community-based research from September 2020 to January 2021 to document the harms of public charge on New York City’s immigrant communities. The research included an analysis of existing data and the collection of new information across multiple community-based organizations and in-person patient navigator organizations working with immigrant communities.
This report does the following:
• Shares our quantitative findings on immigrant knowledge of the current state of public charge and immigrant access to public benefits
• Highlights key quotes from focus groups with patient navigators about the chilling effect of public charge on immigrant communities
• Traces the history of public charge policy in the United States
• Provides policy recommendations aligned with community research findings
This research was funded by a grant from the Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) campaign. We’d also like to thank our Partners through PIF: African Services Committee, Arab American Family Support Center, Make the Road New York, and South Asian Council for Social Services.
