Isn’t This an ‘Immigrant Issue’?: Why All Philanthropic Sectors Should Care About the New Public Charge Rule

The federal government’s new public charge rule is the latest and most powerful tactic to strip millions of immigrant families of access to basic needs like healthcare, food, and housing. Children will be among those most impacted, as one in four children in the U.S. have at least one immigrant parent. While the vast majority of these children are eligible for benefits like all other U.S. citizens, their families are afraid to access benefits for them out of fear that aggressive immigration policies will tear their families apart. Confronted by these harsh realities, too many families are risking falling behind.

While xenophobic rhetoric and the near-constant onslaught of policy changes have numbed much of the country to these issues, discriminatory policies like public charge will not only affect immigrants but also make the nation as a whole sicker and poorer, resulting in increased poverty, lower educational outcomes, children going hungry or unsheltered, and delayed or forgone medical care. Furthermore, the chilling effects of this new rule will have lasting negative impacts on community health, well-being, and even life expectancies, creating a generation of young Americans hindered from achieving long-term safety and stability simply due to their parents’ immigration status.

Funders and philanthropy organizations are invited to join this webinar to:

• learn why this rule devastates immigrants and non-immigrants.
• hear real stories from frontline organizations covering healthcare, education, disabilities, food and nutrition, housing, immigrant rights, and other sectors on the rule’s wide-ranging impact.
• explore how philanthropies can help mitigate the harm.

Date/Time:

Monday, July 13, 2026
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CT | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM MT | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PT

GCIR Attendance Policy: