{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://menendez.house.gov/media/press-releases/menendez-co-leads-127-members-of-congress-in-urging-dhs-to-withdraw-public-charge-proposal", "Menendez Co-Leads 127 Members of Congress in Urging DHS to Withdraw Public Charge Proposal", "2025-12-22", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Robert Menendez", "M001226", "menendez.house.gov", "menendez", "https://menendez.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Vice Chair of Policy for Congressional Hispanic Caucus Highlights Harms to Immigrant Communities and Citizens\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congressional Hispanic Caucus Vice Chair of Policy Congressman Rob Menendez today co-led 127 Members of Congress, including 17 Senators and 110 Members of the House, in urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw its proposed public charge rule, warning it would harm U.S. citizen children, immigrant communities, and public health systems nationwide.\n\n\u201cThe Trump Administration\u2019s proposed public charge rule is a clear effort to harm immigrant communities and make families afraid to access the services they need,\u201d said Congressman Menendez. \u201cThis egregious proposed rule would not only hurt immigrants, but in many cases would restrict access to food, healthcare, childcare, education, and other essential resources for U.S. citizen children. My colleagues in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and House Democratic Caucus across the board will fight against this cruel and unwarranted effort to target families who have done nothing wrong.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe proposed public charge rule will lead to mass uncertainty, disparate and arbitrary outcomes for individuals applying for permanent status or admission into our country, and undue harm to U.S. citizens,\u201d wrote the members, led by Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat, CHC Vice Chair of Policy Menendez, CAPAC Chair Grace Meng, Democratic Women\u2019s Caucus Chair Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke, in the House, and Sens. Cory Booker, Mazie Hirono, and Alex Padilla in the Senate.\n\nThe Trump administration's proposal would rescind the clear 2022 public charge regulations and replace them with vague, undefined standards, leading to arbitrary decision-making, fear, and widespread confusion. Past public charge expansions have driven families, including those with U.S. citizen children, away from lawful access to health care, nutrition, and early childhood programs.\n\n\u201cThe chilling effects triggered by expansions of public charge interpretation are well-documented and severe. Research following [past public charge restrictions] showed that confusion about eligibility led large numbers of eligible immigrant families \u2014 including U.S. citizen children \u2014 to forego health insurance, nutrition supports, and early childhood programs vital to healthy development,\u201d wrote the lawmakers.\n\nThe letter argues the proposal contradicts congressional intent, undermines the rule of law, and risks triggering a massive chilling effect that would worsen child health outcomes, increase food insecurity, and shift costs to states and local governments.\n\nMembers urge DHS to withdraw the proposal in full and maintain the 2022 regulations, which provide clarity, fairness, and consistency for families and adjudicators alike.\n\nCongressman Menendez currently serves as Vice Chair of Policy for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and has been an outspoken leader on pushing back against President Trump and his Administration\u2019s extreme immigration policies. He has led his Congressional colleagues in oversight efforts and advocated against policies that hurt immigrant communities.\n\nYou can read the full letter here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://menendez.house.gov/media/press-releases/menendez-co-leads-127-members-of-congress-in-urging-dhs-to-withdraw-public-charge-proposal"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.881592907011509, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}