September 10, 2019

Congressman Correa Releases Letter In Support Of Anaheim City Council Resolution Denouncing Changes To Public Charge Rule

Today, Congressman Correa released the following letter in support of an Anaheim City Council resolution denouncing changes to the “Public Charge” rule. “Public charge” or the “public charge test” is used by immigration officials to determine whether an individual can enter the U.S. or get a green card. Officials look at whether a person has used specific benefit programs or is likely to become a ward of the state. The letter can be found here. The letter states as follow:

Anaheim Mayor Sidhu and Council
200 South Anaheim Boulevard
Anaheim, CA 92805

Dear Anaheim Mayor Sidhu and Council,

I write to you in support of Item #20 on your Council Agenda this evening, “Resolution 2019, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Anaheim opposing the Department of Homeland Security’s public charge rule change as applied to legal permanent residency applications.”

As you may know, the President has released his final rule related to public charge in the Federal Register. This rule forces struggling families pursuing the American Dream to make an impossible choice—feed their children or become a U.S. citizen. Worse, this rule supports the factually incorrect notion that immigrants are a financial burden to the American taxpayer and subside on the welfare state.

Let it be known, these stereotypes are false and dangerous. The United States is the land of reinvention and opportunity. For most of us, our immigrant ancestors arrived in the United States with nothing but a hope and a prayer, and from that, we built the wealthiest and most powerful nation the world has seen. The Administration’s change to the Public Charge ignores our history and turns the nation’s back to our legacy.

As a high-ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Judiciary Committee, both of which have jurisdiction over this rule change, I have been pushing back on policies like these for my two and a half years in Congress. I have spoken to the Secretary of DHS and USICS and demanded that these policies not stand as they are detrimental to my District. 

As this community’s Representative in Washington, I have fought to prevent this change from taking place. As a Chairman of the Department of Homeland Security Committee and a member of the Judiciary Committee, I have stood arm in arm with our allies and face to face with our opponents. Be it General John Kelly, Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, or Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan, I have stood up to this Administration’s consistent assault on immigrant communities. We must not be silent when our families, our neighbors, and our values are under attack.

While the resolution before you will not prevent the Administration from implementing this rule change, it shows that the City of Anaheim stands in solidarity with its citizens. I urge you all to support Mr. Moreno and our immigrant community by standing with our friends, families, and neighbors in rejecting this rule. It’s your job to stand up for the citizens of Anaheim. It’s my job to stand up against the President.

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