Opinion ID: 4553022
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Explanation for Expanded List of Benefits

Text: This brings us to DHS’s rationale for expanding the list of benefits relevant to the public charge determination. DHS explains that it included a broader group of benefits in the Rule because the distinction made in the 1999 Guidance between cash and non-cash benefits was no longer appropriate in light of the more restrictive notions of self-sufficiency DHS enacted with the changed definition. See 84 Fed. Reg. at 41,356; see also id. at 41,349, 41,351, 41,375; 83 Fed. Reg. at 51,123. Though this explanation is in some ways subsidiary to DHS’s explanation for the changed definition, DHS argues this as an additional justification and we thus address its additional shortcomings. See Appellants’ Br. at 43. 89 In the 1999 Guidance, INS explained that “[a]fter extensive consultation with benefit-granting agencies” it “determined that the best evidence of whether an alien is primarily dependent on the government for subsistence is . . . the receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance.” 64 Fed. Reg. at 28,692; see 83 Fed. Reg. 51,133. The Guidance consequently excluded non-cash benefits (e.g., SNAP, housing assistance, and Medicaid) from consideration because those benefits were “increasingly being made available to families with incomes far above the poverty level, reflecting broad public policy decisions about improving general public health and nutrition.” 64 Fed. Reg. at 28,692. In other words, “participation in [those] programs [was] not evidence of poverty or dependence” because they are “by their nature supplemental and do not, alone or in combination, provide sufficient resources to support an individual or family.” Id.; see id. at 28,678. In justifying its decision to include these non-cash benefits in the Rule, DHS explains that they are relevant to its revamped public charge definition because they “bear directly on self-sufficiency.” 84 Fed. Reg. at 41,366. DHS reasons that because “[f]ood, shelter, and necessary medical treatment are basic necessities of life[, a] person who needs the public’s assistance to provide for 90 these basic necessities is not self-sufficient.” 83 Fed. Reg. at 51,159. Thus, the Rule includes these benefits as relevant to the public charge determination to ensure that all benefits bearing on self-sufficiency are considered. Id.; see 84 Fed. Reg. at 41,356. The fundamental flaw of this justification is that while DHS repeatedly contends that the non-citizens using these programs would be unable to provide for their basic necessities without governmental support, it does not provide any factual basis for this belief. See, e.g., 83 Fed. Reg. at 51,159; 84 Fed. Reg. at 41,354, 41,366, 41,375, 41,381, 41,389. While the 1999 Guidance was developed in consultation with the benefits-granting agencies, DHS does not claim that their expertise again informed its decision that people who use non-cash benefits would be otherwise unable to meet their basic needs.34 Of course, DHS is free to change its interpretation and we do not suggest it is under any obligation to consult with its sister agencies in so doing. But what DHS may not do is rest its changed interpretation on unsupported speculation, particularly when its categorical assumptions run counter to the realities of the non-cash benefits at 34 In response to a comment directly asking whether any such consultation took place, DHS invoked the deliberative process privilege. 84 Fed. Reg. at 41,460. 91 issue. The goals and eligibility criteria of these benefits programs belie DHS’s assumption and show that these programs are designed to provide supplemental support, rather than subsistence, to a broad swath of the population – as INS recognized in 1999. Take, for example, SNAP – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – which was born of a desire to “raise levels of nutrition among low-income households.” Food Stamp Act of 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-525, § 2, 78 Stat. 703, 703. SNAP benefits are intended for all those whose “financial resources . . . are determined to be a substantial limiting factor in permitting them to obtain a more nutritious diet.” Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, Pub. L. No. 95-113, § 1301, 91 Stat. 913, 962 (emphasis added); see 7 C.F.R. § 273.9(a). Because SNAP is not intended only for those who might otherwise face starvation, the program is open to households with incomes exceeding the federal poverty guideline, 7 C.F.R. § 273.9(a)(1), and its supplemental nature is underscored by the fact that the average SNAP recipient receives only $127 a month in benefits, see House of Representatives Amicus Br. at 19 (citing 2018 statistics). Large numbers of SNAP 92 recipients, far from being incapable of productive employment, work for some of America’s largest corporations.35 The housing benefits included in the Rule have a similar aim, intended to ensure “a decent home and a suitable living environment for all persons, but principally those of low and moderate income.” Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-383, § 101(c)(3), 88 Stat. 633, 634 (emphasis added). Indeed, while the majority of those using housing programs are low-income families, benefits remain available to those earning up to 80% of the area median income – $85,350 for a family of four in New York City in 2019. M.T.R. J. App. 164; see 42 U.S.C. § 1437a(b)(2)(A). It makes little sense to treat the mere receipt of housing benefits as proof of inability to survive by one’s own efforts when the program is intended for, among others, people who can and do earn moderate incomes. In contrast, TANF – one of the three benefits listed in the 35 See Public Justice Center Amicus Br. at 12 (citing Senate report concluding that SNAP beneficiaries are “‘far more’ likely to be employed than to rely on cash assistance” (quoting S. Rep. No. 11-220, at 8 (2007)); see also Dennis Green, Data From States Shows Thousands of Amazon Employees Are on Food Stamps, BUSINESS INSIDER (Aug. 25, 2018) (discussing SNAP usage by Amazon, Walmart, and McDonald’s employees). 93 1999 Guidance – is generally only available to families with incomes well below the federal poverty guideline.36 While the Rule declares non-citizens dependent for using Medicaid instead of private health insurance, it cannot be ignored that in this country, access to private healthcare depends for many people on whether an employer offers coverage. See National Housing Law Project Amicus Br. at 22 (noting that roughly 40% of employed Medicaid beneficiaries work for small businesses, many of which are not legally required to provide health insurance). Considering that access to insurance is often determined by factors beyond an individual’s control, we are dubious of DHS’s unsupported claim that using public health insurance shows a lack of self-sufficiency.37 To the contrary, studies show that 36 The TANF earnings thresholds for new applicants vary by state and range from approximately 16% of FPG in Alabama to 91% of FPG in Nevada. See CONG. RESEARCH SERV., TANF: ELIGIBILITY AND BENEFIT AMOUNTS IN STATE TANF CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS at 3 (2014). In the majority of states, however, TANF was only available to those earning less than 50% of FPG, which means an annual income of less than $13,100 for a family of four in 2020. Id.; see Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines, 85 Fed. Reg. 3,060, 30,060 (Jan. 17, 2020). 37 DHS also suggests that Medicaid is included because “the total Federal expenditure for the Medicaid program overall is by far larger than any other program for low-income people,” 84 Fed. Reg. at 41,379, which DHS takes as evidence that it is “a more significant form of public support” for individuals than other benefits, Appellants’ Br. at 43; see 83 Fed. Reg. at 51,160. We are not 94 more than 60% of Medicaid beneficiaries who are not children, older adults, or people with disabilities are employed. See Public Justice Center Amicus Br. at 20 (citing RACHEL GARFIELD ET AL., KAISER FAMILY FOUND., UNDERSTANDING THE INTERSECTION OF MEDICAID AND WORK: WHAT DOES THE DATA SAY? 2 (2019)). To be sure, it is easier for individuals to purchase private coverage in the wake of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), but the Rule implies that even using ACA tax credits to purchase health insurance evidences an inability to meet one’s needs without government support. 84 Fed. Reg. at 41,299. Of course, SNAP and housing benefits may very well be all that stands between some non-citizens and hunger or homelessness. Some families may actually fail to meet these basic needs without government support. But these programs sweep more broadly than just families on the margin, encompassing those who would no doubt keep their families fed and housed without persuaded that the difference in dollars expended is an appropriate indicator of a non-citizen’s level of self-sufficiency; rather, it seems plain to us that the difference is due to the high cost of providing healthcare in the United States. Cf. Public Citizen, Inc. v. Mineta, 340 F.3d 39, 58 (2d Cir. 2003) (“The notion that ‘cheapest is best’ is contrary to State Farm.”). The size of the government expenditure on Medicaid may be relevant to a policy debate about the costs and benefits of the program, but it has little bearing on whether Medicaid recipients should be considered “public charges.” 95 government support but are able to do so in a healthier and safer way because they receive supplemental assistance. See Cook Cty., 962 F.3d at 232 (noting that the benefits covered by the Rule “are largely supplemental” and that “[m]any recipients could get by without them” (emphasis omitted)). Accepting help that is offered to elevate one to a higher standard of living, help that was created by Congress for that precise purpose, does not mean a person is not self-sufficient – particularly when such programs are available not just to persons living in abject poverty but to a broad swath of low- and moderate-income Americans, including those who are productively employed. DHS goes too far in assuming that all those who participate in non-cash benefits programs would be otherwise unable to meet their needs and that they can thus be categorically considered “public charges.” Its unsupported and conclusory claim that receipt of such benefits indicates an inability to support oneself does not satisfy DHS’s obligation to explain its actions. See Gen. Chem. Corp. v. United States, 817 F.2d 844, 855 (D.C. Cir. 1987) (rejecting agency’s “conclusory” explanation and noting that “[s]uch intuitional forms of decisionmaking . . . fall somewhere on the distant side of arbitrary” (internal quotation marks omitted)); see also State Farm, 463 U.S. at 51. 96 “Agencies are free to change their existing policies as long as they provide a reasoned explanation for the change. When an agency changes its existing position, it need not always provide a more detailed justification than what would suffice for a new policy created on a blank slate. But the agency must at least . . . show that there are good reasons for the new policy.” Encino Motorcars, 136 S. Ct. at 2125-26 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). DHS has failed to do so here. Accordingly, the Plaintiffs have shown they are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that DHS’s failure to provide a reasoned explanation renders the Rule arbitrary and capricious.