Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday announced that the City of Chicago submitted a comment to the federal government in opposition to the Trump Administration’s proposed “public charge” rule change, as it would cause harm to the city and its immigrant residents. The City of Chicago and the City of New York also led a coalition of more than thirty local governments in submitting a separate comment to explain why the proposed rule is unlawful. On October 10, 2018, the Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security published a proposal to expand the test that it applies to determine whether an immigrant is likely to become a “public charge.”  Under longstanding policy, a “public charge” is an immigrant who is primarily dependent on the government for subsistence. The proposed rule seeks to greatly expand the definition of “public charge” to, for the first time, include non-cash benefits such as food stamps, medical care and housing assistance. The use of these benefits would be considered to not only determine which immigrants may be barred from entry into the United States, but also those lawfully present who wish to become permanent residents. The comment explains that Chicago is already hearing reports of a chilling effect based on the proposed rule. Chicago’s Department of Family & Support Services has reported that some of the city’s delegate agencies, including providers of Head Start, Early Head Start, and SNAP benefits, are seeing declines in enrollment and participation.