In December 19, 2025 comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), LeadingAge urged the administration to reverse course on a proposed broadening of “public charge” discretion. Public charge determinations are used by immigration officials to deny legal status to a foreign-born person based on expected or actual utilization of government assistance.

In November, the agency published a notice of proposed rulemaking, which would rescind the government’s previous policy limiting the scope of public charge grounds for inadmissability for immigrants. Under the the proposed rulemaking, immigration official would instead have broad discretion to deny lawful permanent resident status to a foreign-born person, including older adults and the people who serve them, based on the utilization of government assistance programs. These programs could include housing, nutrition, and healthcare assistance.

In its comments, LeadingAge stated, “On behalf of older adults and the workforce that serves them, LeadingAge strongly opposes broad public charge discretion. Public charge policies harm both the aging services workforce and foreign-born older adults by creating fear, limiting access to safety net programs, and making it harder for immigrant caregivers to get legal status. We urge DHS to support, rather than restrict, immigrant access to benefits, as well as pathways to citizenship for the aging services workforce.”

LeadingAge’s comments explain that foreign-born older adults and members of the aging services workforce may forgo critical food or housing assistance before of a fear of jeopardizing their immigration status. Overall, public charge discretion could have a severe “chilling effect,” meaning that eligible immigrant households will disenroll from critical programs like SNAP, Medicaid, and HUD-assisted housing, regardless of the actual impact on public charge determinations.

The result is worse health outcomes for older adults and fewer options to bolster the aging services workforce, of which 28% are foreign-born workers. LeadingAge urged the administration to maintain current public charge policies and emphasize dignity and access to services.

Read LeadingAge’s letter here, and keep up with our updates on immigration policies impacting aging services here.