Street w. This new data and focus on the 200, we can make a difference. I think when people are ready for treatment and volunteer for treatment, that is key. I also think we need to recognize that one of our challenges on the streets that some people will refuse treatment. Some people in the most dire needs of treatment will refuse treatment. So we need to be there when people are ready to go into the services and meet them. When theyre ready. But we also need laws like the conservatorship law to provide people with the support for shorttime conservatorship to help them save their lives. These are lifesaving interventions. And that persistent compassion is what we have seen here and what weve come to expect from our director of Mental Health reform in. A few short months, hes transformed the way many of us think about caring for people experiencing the intersection of homelessness, serious Mental Illness and Substance Abuse disorders. This is a population, as youve heard of 4,000 people who require specialized solutions. Kit take a while. It can take time for them to achieve their goals. But we know that wellness and recovery is possible, as youve heard today. And with our partners at the department of homeless systems and Supportive Housing, thank you, jeff, for being here today and the Human Services agency. We have agreed for the first tomb on ways to identify, treat and house the most vulnerable population in our city. And mayor london breed to spark the champion of harm reduction, someone who understands the inequities that lead to core Health Outcomes and that we must continually push harder to overcome. Under her leadership, San Francisco continues to invest in health care and housing that our city needs. Thank you, mayor breed. And thank you all for being here today. Thank you to the team and lets move forward together. [applause] thank you. Again, thank you so much, yolanda, for sharing your story. And stories like yolandas is why we do the work. It is what we care about the most because the fact is, you know, people go through challenges. People go through struggles. And nine years being clean and sober takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of courage and to get up here and tell your story will have such a tremendous impact on so many other peoples lives and hopefully encourage them to get the help and the support that they need. And i think that is important to remember in having the conversation about the struggles and the success stories. Because we are not going to give up. And i know that people in San Francisco are frustrated by what they see on our streets. Im frustrated. But im not going to give up. I think it is important that we have ways to help people. That with our additional 53 million in investment and Behavioral Health program that our additional 100 million in investment, the Homeless Supportive Services indicates that were willing to make investments. Now it is time to put those investments to good use. And to understand that every dollar we spend on this issue is a dollar that can change someones life. And so we have to be deliberate in our approach to really focus on this and make sure it is not a political issue. This is a longterm plan of action that will deliver the kind of results that will help people, like yolanda, get really a Second Chance at living a healthy, productive and thriving life. So thank you for all of you for being here today. And again, i want to express my appreciation to the team and the folks who are working with so many of the clients that i know things can be challenging, but the fact that youre here, i know that youve not given up. This work is rewarding, especially when youre able to get the kinds of results that show that supporting people like yolanda do yield and so it really means a lot to have so many incredible, dedicated people doing this work every single day because it is not easy. And ill tell you that, you know, because you all know that i spend a lot of time walking the streets and having the conversations and going out there with some of our teams and having the conversation. Within two hours of walking just four blocks, i was mentally exhausted with the conversations that i had and also trying to get people the help and the support that they needed and just work that the energy and the emotion that goes into trying to help people every single day is something thats admirable and i want us to really appreciate the folks who are part of, you know, our mental teams and our Nonprofit Organizations and our homeless out reach workers and even Law Enforcement and the work that were out there doing to help change and save peoples lives. This is the first of many steps that we plan to take and, again, this is, i know, a very complex issue. Its not wraped in the usual political package that the press, i know, wants to see it wrapped in. But this is actually what we need to do. Get into the nuts and bolts, make the right decisions and get out there and make the changes that will help impact the people that we are here to serve. So thank you all so much for being here today. And dr. Colfax and dr. S blanlz dr. Bland will be here to answer any further questions that you might have. Thank you. [applause] [ ] homelessness in San Francisco is considered the number 1 issue by most people who live here, and it doesnt just affect Neighbors Without a home, it affects all of us. Is real way to combat that is to work together. It will take city departments and nonprofit providers and volunteers and companies and Community Members all coming together. [ ] the product homeless connect Community Day of Service Began about 15 years ago, and we have had 73 of them. What we do is we host and expostyle event, and we were the very force organization to do this but it worked so well that 250 other cities across the globe host their own. Theres over 120 Service Providers at the event today, and they range anywhere from hygiene kits provided by the basics, 5 to prescription glasses and reading glasses, hearing tests, pet sitting, showers, medical services, flu shots, dental care, groceries, so many phenomenal Service Providers, and what makes it so unique is we ask that they provide that Service Today here it is an actual, tangible Service People can leave with it. I am with the hearing and Speech Center of northern california, and we provide a variety of Services Including audiology, counselling, outreach, education, today we actually just do screening to see if someone has hearing loss. To follow updates when they come into the Speech Center and we do a full diagnostic hearing test, and we start the process of taking an impression of their year, deciding on which hearing aid will work best for them. If they have a smart phone, we make sure we get a smart phone that can connect to it, so they can stream phone calls, or use it for any other services that they need. San francisco has phenomenal social services to support people at risk of becoming homeless, are already experience and homelessness, but it is confusing, and there is a lot of waste. Bringing everyone into the same space not only saves an average of 20 hours a week in navigating the system and waiting in line for different areas, it helps them talk, so if you need to sign up for medical, what you need identification, you dont have to go to sacramento or wait in line at a d. M. V. , you go across the hall to the d. M. V. To get your i. D. Today we will probably see around 30 people, and averaging about 20 of this people coming to cs for followup service. For a participant to qualify for services, all they need to do is come to the event. We have a lot of people who are at risk of homelessness but not yet experiencing it, that todays event can ensure they stay house. Many people coming to the event are here to receive one specific need such as signing up for medical or learning about d. M. V. Services, and then of course, most of the people who are tender people experiencing homelessness today. I am the representative for the volunteer central. We are the group that checks and all the volunteers that comment participate each day. On a typical day of service, we have anywhere between 40500 volunteers that we, back in, they get tshirts, nametags, maps, and all the information they need to have a successful event. Our participant escorts are a core part of our group, and they are the ones who help participants flow from the Different Service areas and help them find the Different Services that they needs. One of the ways we work closely with the department of homelessness and Supportive Housing is by working with Homeless Outreach teams. They come here, and these are the people that help you get into navigation centers, help you get into shortterm shelter, and talk about housing1st policies. We also work very closely with the department of Public Health to provide a lot of our services. We have all types of things that volunteers deal do on a day of service. We have folks that help give out lunches in the cafe, we have folks who help with the check in, getting people when they arrive, making sure that they find the services that they need to, we have folks who help in the check out process, to make sure they get their food bag, bag of groceries, together hygiene kit, and whatever they need to. Volunteers, i think of them as the secret sauce that just makes the whole process works smoothly. Participants are encouraged and welcomed to come with their pets. We do have a pet daycare, so if they want to have their pets stay in the daycare area while they navigate the event, they are welcome to do that, will we also understand some people are more comfortable having their pets with them. They can bring them into the event as well. We also typically offer veterinary services, and it can be a real detriment to coming into an event like this. We also have a bag check. You dont have to worry about your belongings getting lost, especially when that is all that you have with you. We get connected with people who knew they had hearing loss, but they didnt know they could get services to help them with their hearing loss picks and we are getting connected with each other to make sure they are getting supported. Our next event will be in march, we dont yet have a date set. We typically sap set it six weeks out. The way to volunteer is to follow our newsletter, follow us on social media, or just visit our website. We always announce it right away, and you can register very easily online. A lot of people see folks experience a homelessness in the city, and they dont know how they can help, and defence like this gives a whole bunch of people a lot of good opportunities to give back and be supported. [ ] as latinos we are unified in some ways and incredibly diverse in others and this exhibit really is an exploration of nuance in how we present those ideas. Our debts are not for sale. A piece about sanctuary and how his whole family served in the army and its a long Family Tradition and these people that look at us as foreigners, we have been here and we are part of america, you know, and we had to reinforce that. I have been cure rating here for about 18 year. We started with a table top, candle, flower es, and a picture and people reacted to that like it was the monna lisa. The most important tradition as it relates to the show is idea of making offering. In Traditional Mexican alters, you see food, candy, drinks, cigarettes, the things that the person that the offerings where being made to can take with them into the next word, the next life. Keeps u. S us connects to the people who have passed and because family is so important to us, that Community Dynamic makes it stick and makes it visible and it humanizes it and makes it present again. When i first started doing it back in 71, i wanted to do something with ritual, ceremony and history and you know i talked to my partner ross about the research and we opened and it hit a cord and people loved it. I think the line between engaging everyone with our culture and appropriating it. I think it goes back to asking people to bring their visions of what it means to honor the dead, and so for us its not asking us to make mexican altars if they are not mexican, its really to share and expand our vision of what it means to honor the dead. People are very respectful. I can show you this year alone of people who call tol ask is it okay if we come, we are hawaii or asian or we are this. What should we wear . What do you recommend that we do . They say oh, you know, we want a four day of the dead and its all hybrid in this country. What has happened are paper cuts, its so hybrid. It has spread to mexico from the bay area. We have influence on a lot of people, and im proud of it. A lot of tim times they dont represent we represent a lot of cultures with a lot of different perspectives and beliefs. I can see the city changes and its scary. When we first started a lot of people freaked out thinking we were a cult and things like that, but we went out of our way to also make it educational through outreach and that is why we started doing the prosession in 1979. As someone who grew up attending the yearly processions and who has seen them change incrementally every year into kind of what they are now, i feel in many ways that the cat is out of the bag and there is no putting the genie back into the bottle in how the wider public accesses the day of the dead. I have been through three different generations of children who were brought to the procession when they were very young that are now bringing their children or grandchildren. In the 80s, the processions were just kind of electric. Families with their homemade visuals walking down the street in San Francisco. Service so much more intimate and personal and so much more rooted in kind of a Family Practice of a very strong cultural practice. It kind of is what it is now and it has gone off in many Different Directions but i will always love the early days in the 80s where it was so intimate and son sofa millial. Our goal is to rescue a part of the culture that was a part that we could invite others to join in there there by where we invite the person to come help us rescue rescue it also. Thats what makes it unique. You have to know how to approach this changing situation, its exhausting and i have seen how it has affected everybody. Whats happening in mission and the relationship with the police, well its relevant and its relevant that people think about it that day of the dead is not just sugar skulls and paper flowers and candles, but its become a nondenominational tradition that people celebrate. Our culture is about color and family and if that is not present in your life, there is just no meaning to it you know . We have artists as black and brown people that are in direct danger of the direct policies of the trump a administration and i think how each of the artists has responsibilitie responded ss interesting. The common we think over 50 thousand permanent residents in San Francisco eligible for citizenship by lack information and resources so really the project is not about citizenship but really academy our immigrant community. Making sure theyre a part of what we do in San Francisco the San Francisco pathway to Citizenship Initiative a unique part of just between the city and then our 5 local foundations and Community Safe organizations and it really is an effort to get as many of the legal permanent residents in the San Francisco since 2013 we started reaching the San Francisco bay area residents and 10 thousand people into through 22 working groups and actually completed 5 thousand applications for citizenship our cause the real low income to moderate income resident in San Francisco and the bayview sometimes the workshops are said attend by poem if san mateo and from sacking. We think over restraining order thousand legal permanent residents in San Francisco that are eligible for citizenship but totally lack information and they dont have trained professionals culturally appropriate with an audience youre working with one time of providing services with pro bono lawyers and trained professionals to find out whether your eligible the first station and go through a purview list of questions to see if they have met the 56 year residents arrangement or theyre a u. S. Citizenship they once they get through the screening they go to legal communication to see lawyers to check am i eligible to be a citizen we send them to station 3 thats when they sit down with experienced advertising to fill out the 4 hundred naturalization form and then to final review and at the end he helps them with the check out station and send them a packet to fill and wait a month to 6 weeks to be invited in for an oral examine and if they pass two or three a months maximum get sworn in and become a citizen every single working groups we have a learning how to vote i mean there are tons of Community Resources we go for citizenship prep classes and have agencies it stays on site and this is filing out forms for people that are eligible so not just about your 22 page form but other Community Services and benefits theres an economic and safety Public Benefit if we nationalize all people to be a citizen with the network no objection over 3 million in income for those but more importantly the city saves money 86 million by reducing the benefit costs. Thank you. Ive been here a loventh i already feel like an american citizen not felt it motorbike that needs to happen for good. One day i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, for liberty and justice for all. Youre welcome. singing . clapping. introduce the San Francisco field officer director ribbon that will mirror the oath raise your hand and repeat the oath i hereby declare on oath repeating. Citizens cry when they become citizenship to study this difficult examine and after two trials they come back im an american now were proud of that purpose of evasion so help me god please help me welcome seven hundred and 50 americans. speaking foreign language. she wants to be part of the country and vote so much puppy. You know excited and as i said it is a long process i think that needs to be finally recognized to be integrated that is basically, the type of that i see myself being part of. Out of everybody on tv and the news he felt that is necessary to be part of community in that way i can do so many things but my voice wouldnt count as it counts now. Its everybody i hoped for a bunch of opportunities demographics and as you can see yourself theres a good life for everyone. Thats why. You have people from all the walks that life and theyre standing in water 8 hours to be an american citizen and contribute to the city and thats really what makes this worthwhile. Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This meeting is called to order. Please call the role. [roll call] [roll call] thank you both. Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I would like to welcome all of you here this evening for the special joint hearing hosted by the Human Rights Commission. I would like to welcome our human rights of commissioners. Thank you for joining us this evening, on behalf of my colleagues we are delighted to be cohosting this hearing with you. We look forward to a good, and open conversation this evening. We have some excellent speaker testimony that we are looking forward to gathering. We very much look forward to hearing from members of the community on the issue of the border crisis, our first order of business to are there any announcements . Thank you. Office of Civic Engagement and veterans affairs. To members of the public, this is special joint meeting at the San Francisco immigrant rights commandant commission on the Human Rights Commission cosponsored by yee and ronan. Please silence all cell phones so speakers are commissioners maybe be had. Members of the public who wish to make comments should fill out a green comment card, and return the card to Commission Staff, spanish interpretation is available, headsets are available at the front through our staff, for members of the public who wish to make a comment in spanish, please request a spanish interpreter on your comment card, and speakers using interpretation assistance will be allowed twice the amount of normal time to speak. This hearing is also being found by sf guv tv. Individuals who do not want to be found or photographed can indicate so on their comment cards, or alert us before stepping up to the podium. The chair will make an announcement to sfgovtv not to film so the only audio voice recorded. Commissioners should ask clarifying questions to the respective chairs. Please let the Commission Staff know if you need assistance. Depending on the number of people who wish to make public comments, the chairs may choose to limit the amount of speaking time per person. In the absence of chair christian we will refer to vice chair sweet. Before we begin this evening, i would like to welcome some members of our public offices here this evening. We are joined by [ name indescernible ] from senator harris office. Welcome. We are joined by adriana diaz. Thank you for joining us this evening. We were expecting board president yee to be joining us this evening. I am wondering if there is any representative from his office for opening remarks . Okay, saying none. We should move forward to the next item on the agenda which is welcoming remarks by the commission chairs. If president yee arrives we should give him an opportunity to address the commission. He is out another engagement this evening. Ill behalf of myself, i would like to welcome you all to tonights special hearing on the impact of the border crisis in immigrant communities. We look forward to the partnership of the members of the Human Rights Commission i look forward to collaborating with you on this and many other issues. For 22 years to come in immigrant Rights Commission has fought for the rights and dignity of immigrants and other underserved and representative commodities. From language rights to the sanctuary ordinance, we have worked with our Community Partners and fellow commissions to ensure inclusive fair policies and conditions that make San Francisco a safe and well mckee place for all people to try. It has not been an easy roll for immigrants. In the past two years, especially, we have seen a steady stream of anti immigrant. Demeaning and hate filled rhetoric, and attempts to diminish the many contributions of hardworking, lawabiding immigrants and communities of color. The Current Administration has demeaned, threatened, and used outside language against immigrants. It has chosen to cage innocent children, and their families detain them indefinitely. It has chosen to eliminate every possible way for immigrant families it to access basic needs for shelter, food, and healthcare, and displace our most vulnerable immigrants in greater danger. Nothing can be more cruel than the separation of end Young Children from their parents. Who arrived at our border seeking refuge from untold dangers and threats. To turn our backs on them, cage them, i denied them access to basic hygiene, nutrition and safe clean conditions to then call them criminals, is beyond inhumane. At a time when immigrants continue to face rhetoric and federal policies that speak to tear them down, we in San Francisco continue to celebrate the many contributions of immigrants and build opportunities for collective success. We encourage our immigrants, and all residents to be typically engaged, to use their voices, to stand up to fear, to participate in news the pathway and assistance that they are eligible for and to exercise the right. The immigrant Rights Commission stands with and for our immigrant communities and with the human right commission. We collectively seek positive, Inclusive Solutions and pledged to continue our work with the community for safe and better San Francisco for all. That is why tonights hearing is so important. Vice chair sweet . Thank you. I learned a couple of hours ago, that our chair, Susan Christian will not be here this evening. I will comment that the San Francisco human right commission has been around for over 50 years. During those 50 years, we have stood for the right of san franciscans, and visitors to San Francisco, our citizens and friends to coexist with dignity, and freedom from prejudice. As we look at the landscape today, and what the administration is doing, and we recognize that the issues that are under pending immigration are fundamentally human rights issues and we look at the fact that asylum is fundamentally a human rights issue. We are proud to be here, in a city where we would never turn our backs on people who are in need of help. We never do turn our backs on people who need help. We are proud that we can be part of this conversation, looking to be a collective effort to help ensure that regardless of who is making decisions in washington, that we dont forget that our charge is to think about, and the dignity of all people who are in need of help, and to assist them and that is the fundamental mission of the human right commission, and we look forward into an informative hearing and to continuing this effort with the immigrant Rights Commission. Thank you, commissioner. Our next order of business, our policy updates. Commissioners, earlier this year, the next agenda item will include updates on these issues. In march of 2019, the commission met with over 70 members of the travertine community about barriers they are facing to send funds to Family Members in yemen, who are in need of food, medicine and shelter due to the civil war that has claimed thousands of lives. The Treasurers Office responded immediately, for our request into an investigation. We would hear first from their policy and communications manager, eric. Thank you. Just to provide a quick update, my name is eric manke come on with the office of the treasurer and tax collector. A quick review, our office received a letter, from this commission, in june, notifying us of some barriers that bay area residents were experiencing, as they were trying to transfer money to family and friends in yemen. We were very moved by the stories that we read, from those hearings. We immediately started looking at what we were designated to do, look at alternatives, to see if there was any other way to actually get Money Transferred to those of family and friends, in yemen, who were in desperate need of it. We looked at three different areas, the first was our banking section, in the Treasurers Office. We reach out to our bank partners, and bank of america. Essentially what we found there was that the only way to transfer money to yemen at this moment, is through a wire transfer. There is all kinds of, which i even learned, different ways that you can transfer money electronically. The only thing that is viable right now, is wire transfers. The second thing we learned from those interactions where that, one thing we tried to get creative and think about, would there be a way to purchase prepaid cards here, and somehow get them there. That was also we were also told that those were only domestically issued, and used. That was the banking issue that we looked at. Second, we have an office of Financial Empowerment based inside the Treasurers Office. So, folks in that office, contacted several other municipalities with similar offices to see if they were experiencing this issue to see if they had come up with solutions to this issue. And, then third, the office of Financial Empowerment, we have some connections that are relationships we have built with international, micro lending groups. To see if they have it any presence in yemen if they would be able to provide a service. I am sorry to report that most of our efforts did not lead to any viable option for transferring money besides the ways that were shared with you all during your meetings. However, a very small thing we did discover, that might be useful, is there is a world bank website, which lifts potential options for Money Transfer operators that may still operate in the u. S. , and transfer money to yemen, besides the two that were primarily discussed which is Western Union or money gram. Finally, i think what is at the crux of this that we found most noteworthy, was that that when we were exploring those through the different sections of our office. We discovered that yemen is on the u. S. Treasury sanctions list. Therefore, any attempts to send funds to the country are under scrutiny by the u. S. Department of Treasury Office of foreign assets control. We provided a report, from the u. S. Treasury from that Office Specific to the yemen sanctions. With that i think i will end and answer any questions you may have. Thank you very much, and thank you so much for your effort to assist. I wish i could be more helpful. I know. Being an iranian american, and an immigrant, it is really hard, because of the economic sanctions and they are really, really difficult. Sometimes the treasury has a way for humanitarian, that i know some nonprofits have been able to try, and re seemed received cell phones could be sent through them. I dont know, given the latest sanctions, what is happening and how easy it is to receive those. Did you look into whether the yemenis can look into nonprofits on apply for the waiver, a license is what it is called, to send humanitarians . We were primarily looking at the broad alternatives, we did not dig into the u. S. Treasury policies specifically. That might be another way to go, we can certainly look into it a little closely. That is something. I have seen some nonprofits have been able to. That is very interesting. In the interest of time, and i want to make sure we move to the issue at hand, i am going ty questions on the human right commission, im going to send it over to the commissioner and if you have any questions you have, that we are going to move onto. Thank you for being here, thank you for the work you did on this. Out of the city departments that we contacted, youre the response was most robust and thoroughly researched. Thank you for that. We have not heard from the City Attorneys Office. One question i do have, is it did you reach out to the City Attorneys Office for assistance on the legal side of this issue . We did not reach out to them for assistance on the legal side. In the notification we received, we had looked at our mandate, trying to find any alternative, and didnt go on the legal site without. On behalf of the community, thank you very much. We have passed on what you found to community leaders, and we will follow up with you directly for questions at the community may have. We will continue to talk to some of the other cities that we are partners with. Other cities are experiencing the same issue and actively looking for alternatives, as well. I think new york city was the big city, and also chicago. Thank you. We look forward to hearing about that. Thank you very much. Thank you commissioners for your questions. Im going to revert back to our opening remarks. We are joined from jan lowe from board president yees office. Good evening, thank you for joining us. Good evening commissioners. Thank you so much for taking the time to focus on this humanitarian crisis, and this issue. I apologize that president yee cannot be here today. He got pulled away to another meeting in the district. We are completely floored by what is happening, in this nation. We are glad that here in San Francisco, we do not wait for answers, we come together to bring forward solutions. One thing that we would love to work with you on, on behalf of the board is to do more of these conversations, and have a joint meeting with the board of supervisors, every person with the ability to do something needs to be able to step up, and ensure that our community understands that what is happening is unconscionable. We need to do everything we can as san franciscans, as residents here, for our brothers and sisters that are dealing with this migrant crisis. I do want to emphasize that this issue is not a latin issue alone, this is a humanitarian issue. We have to look at it from all walks of life, that are trying to cross the border and enter the United States, just to survive. That is a basic human right. Migration is a human right, and that should be protected, the United States should stand for that. We have to uphold that, thats all we have. Many of us would not be here, if our families didnt sacrifice anything, for us to actually be in the United States, or here ins go. That basic tenant needs to be protected and upheld. Thank you very much immigrant Rights Commission, and human right commission, and all the staff and the experts coming together today. The Rapid Response network. The folks that are here, doing the work every single day, defending basic human rights. We see you, we want to support you, and we want to make sure that those that you are serving understand that the board of supervisors stands with you. No matter how scary it is, we have to step up, and we have to be the shield for our community. That is the only thing we can do at this point. Thank you so much. We look forward to future conversations and perhaps another future joint Commission Hearing with you. Thank you. On behalf of both commissions i would like to thank board president yee, and the board of supervisors and mayor breed for your collective support for our immigrant communities. We know that there is the plight of our immigrants on the difficulties our immigrants face are very much at the forefront of the mayors mind and the mind of the board. We are correct very grateful for the support you have. We ask you to continue without support. We will be coming to you as we figure out new ways, new paths that we can assist our immigrant community in San Francisco. Thank you. Moving back to item five on our agenda, the sec. Of the policy updates i would like to welcome back a regular to the immigrant Rights Commission, Sally Kinoshita from the immigrant Resource Center who will provide an update on public charge. Good evening, commissions of the immigrant Rights Commission and human right commission. My name is Sally Kinoshita, the Deputy Director of the immigrant legal Resource Center. We are a Nonprofit Organization based here in San Francisco. Our mission is to work with immigrants, Community Organizations on the legal sector to build a democratic society, the value of diversity in the rights of all people. Ive been asked to present a brief policy update on public charge and i will keep it brief. Last month the Trump Administration made good on one of its promises, and continued its effort to restrict the ability of immigrants to enter the United States, get a green card, or petition Family Members. It did so by publishing a new public charge rule, despite a broad opposition to their proposed changes to this public charge rule. This new rule is 837 pages long, about 800 pages of it are dedicated to addressing the hundreds of thousands of comments that were submitted to the public, submitted by the public, highlighting how harmful this new rule will be to the health and wellbeing of immigrants and their families while creating uncertainty and consistency and chaos in the adjudication of immigration benefits and having a Chilling Effect in applying for immigration benefits. This new rule is set to go in effect on october 15, 2019. However, numerous lawsuits including one filed by the city and county of San Francisco have already attempted to block implementation of this new rule for unfairly targeting hardworking lawful immigrants while instilling fear and confusion in our communities. These lawsuits may stop or delay implementation of a new public charge policy beyond this implementation deadline of october 15, 2019. However if implemented the new world will mean the impact those seeking permanent resident status through Family Member petitions. Heres a little bit of what the new rule says. It redefines who has a public charge in Immigration Law by expanding the list of publicly funded programs that immigration officers may consider when deciding whether someone is likely to become a public charge. Under current law, the only Public Benefits programs all the ad our cash aid how works or welfare, or someone who is institutionalized in longterm care paid for by the government. Under the new rule they would expanded to include medicaid or medical, food stamps called cal for air in california. Section eight Housing Assistance in federally subsidized housing. All of those will be used as a green card