Page 6 - CLT081020

6 ¦ AUGUST 10, 2020 NEWS

¦ From CIRCUIT on PAGE 5 well as a greater number of uninsured patients seek-
use public benefits would be unable to meet their ing care at overburdened hospitals.
basic needs without government assistance. In lifting the district court’s earlier ruling, con-
“What DHS may not do is rest its changed inter- servative judges on the Supreme Court sharply
pretation on unsupported speculation, particularly criticized the use of nationwide injunctions for ex-
when its categorical assumptions run counter to the ceeding the power of Article III courts, with Justice
realities of the non-cash benefits at issue,” U.S. Judge Neil Gorsuch decrying the “gamesmanship and cha-
Gerard E. Lynch, an appointee of President Barack os” they created.
Obama, wrote on behalf of the The Second Circuit, address-
panel. ing those concerns Tuesday, said
“The goals and eligibility cri- there was “no doubt” federal law
teria of these benefits programs permitted judges to enter such
belie DHS’s assumption and show orders, particularly in the context
that these programs are designed of immigration “given the interest
to provide supplemental support, in a uniform immigration policy.”
rather than subsistence, to a broad But the court cautioned against
swath of the population,” he said. The three-judge panel says sweeping language that could
the federal government did conflict with contrary rulings
Lynch was joined in the ruling
by Judges Pierre N. Leval and Pe- not provide “any factual from other courts considering the

ter W. Hall, who were appointed basis” for its position on same issues.

to the court by Presidents Bill noncitizen use of public “When confronted with such
Clinton and George W. Bush, re- benefits but limits the scope a volatile litigation landscape,
spectively. we encourage district courts to
The ruling is another win for of its decision to New York, consider crafting preliminary
Connecticut and Vermont. injunctions that anticipate the
New York Attorney General Le-
titia James, who sued along with possibility of conflict with other
New York City, Vermont and courts and provide for such a
Connecticut to halt the rule from contingency,” Lynch wrote.
taking effect. Immigration ad- “We need not decide whether
vocacy groups also sued in the the able district judge in these
Southern District of New York, cases abused his discretion in
and the two cases were consoli- entering nationwide injunctions.
dated. Instead, we exercise our own dis-
Under the new rule, immigrants who receive cretion, in light of the divergent decisions that have
one or more designated public benefits, such as emerged in our sister circuits since the district court
Medicaid, food stamps and housing subsidies, for entered its orders,” the shrink the breadth to three
a combined 12 months during a three-year period states, he said.
would be more likely to be deemed a public charge. Daniels last week entered a second nationwide
James’ office argued the rule would improperly injunction preventing the rule’s implementation in
alter the definition of a public charge, which has his- light of the COVID-19 crisis, saying the Supreme
torically referred to people who are “predominantly Court had not considered the pandemic’s effects
reliant on government aid” for an extended period when it issued its ruling in January.
of time. ¦

The change, the plaintiffs said, would have a chill- Tom McParland of New York Law Journal can be
ing effect on immigrants’ use of benefits, leading to contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on
reduced Medicaid revenue and federal funding, as Twitter @TMcParlandALM.

CONNECTICUT
Law Tribune