Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14), along with 12 of his House colleagues, sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to urge the secretary to withdraw his department's recently announced public charge rule.

The newly announced DHS policy will exclude several significant non-cash sources of federal funds—such as Medicaid—when determining a potential immigrant’s cost to taxpayers and admissibility or inadmissibility into America. The letter highlights the impracticality of excluding certain significant federal funds when determining an immigrant’s potential burden on taxpayers.

“Our nation prides itself on having hard-working and self-reliant immigrants that contribute to the country’s economic prosperity,” the letter states. “In passing the public charge rule into law, Congress explained that immigrants should not rely on public resources, but rather rely on their own capabilities and the resources of their sponsors. It is irresponsible for the Biden Administration to counter congressional intent by disregarding this goal.”

“Consideration of whether an immigrant will become a public charge when determining admissibility is meant to guarantee the success of U.S. immigration policies,” the letter concludes. “Equally important, this consideration is meant to create an environment where legal immigrants are encouraged to work and prosper. This is vital to a functioning and modern immigration system. Therefore, we request that you immediately rescind your September 2022 public charge rule and issue a new rule to reinstate the use of non-cash federal assistance programs in inadmissibility determinations.”

U.S. Reps. Mike Johnson (LA), Tom Tiffany (WI), Ken Buck (CO), Ralph Norman (SC), Paul Gosar (AZ), Ronny Jackson (TX), Tom McClintock (CA), Darrell Issa (CA), Troy Nehls (TX), Louie Gohmert (TX), Matt Rosendale (MT), and Cliff Bentz (OR) joined the letter.

Read the full letter here.