AAP Statement Responding to Supreme Court Ruling on Public Charge

By: Sally Goza, MD, FAAP, President, American Academy of Pediatrics

​"Today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling to allow the Trump administration's harmful public charge rule to go into effect will have serious, long-term consequences for the health of immigrant children and families. The public charge rule has been sowing fear and confusion since it was first drafted three years ago, and today’s decision transforms that fear into reality for immigrant families. Make no mistake; as a result of this ruling, children will miss out on critical health, housing and nutrition services and children in our country will suffer.

"Pediatricians have witnessed the chilling effects of the public charge rule in our own patients, with families disenrolling from or avoiding critical health programs impacted by the rule—Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and housing assistance—and expressing concern and confusion over other programs they are eligible for. At a time when we face a rising number of children who are uninsured, this rule only makes it harder for immigrant families to stay healthy and stay together in this country.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics has been unrelenting in our opposition to the public charge rule, outlining our concerns in an amicus brief to the Supreme Court last week. Today is a setback and we will continue to press our case on the merits before the Supreme Court. We advocate for all children – no matter where they or their parents were born."

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org and follow us on Twitter @AmerAcadPeds