public charge

noun

1. a person who is in economic distress and is supported at government expense.

   He assured the American consul that the prospective immigrant would not become a public charge.

Word History and Origins

Origin of public charge¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

The key policy was the administration’s tightening of the “public charge” rule, which applies to those seeking admission to the United States or hoping to upgrade their immigration status.

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In the end, there’s no evidence that anyone was ever actually denied status based exclusively on the expanded public charge definition.

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Connie Chung Joe, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, said she has been told of Asian immigrants canceling medical appointments because they are afraid of being seen as a public charge.

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Trump added Medicaid and other noncash programs to the traditional roster of cash programs such as food stamps as signs the recipients would become a public charge.

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A related proposal would reinstate the tightened standards for the “public charge” rule instituted in the first Trump term.

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