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U.S. Supreme Court ruling punishes poor and working class immigrants


Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, in a 5-4 decision, lifted an injunction placed on the Trump administration’s revised public charge rule. With this ruling, the Supreme Court is directly supporting President Trump’s anti-immigration agenda – which unfairly targets mostly poor immigrants and people of color.
 
This ruling by the Supreme Court serves to disenfranchise and further marginalize millions of immigrant families who are already struggling to make ends meet.  Our values as Americans compel us to remove barriers that prevent immigrants from accessing programs that give them transitional support, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid and housing vouchers.
 
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) cannot reverse this ruling. Still, NASW will not give up its efforts to ensure that our nation has compassionate immigration policies.

In the meantime, we want to restate that the interest of low-income immigrants was not served by the U.S. Supreme Court. A secondary lesson learned from this decision is that “courts matter.” We have a great deal of work in front of us to make every effort to bring balance to the federal court - including the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social workers. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through its advocacy.

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