Wisconsin joined 21 other states and the District of Columbia in suing the Trump administration over a policy that expands the circumstances in which immigrants’ use of public benefits can be considered when they seek green cards, certain visas or admission to the United States. The lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, targets the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A separate case filed by New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Clara County in California, Seattle and King County in Washington makes a similar challenge. The federal rule is scheduled to take effect Friday. It reverses limits adopted in 2022 and gives immigration officers broader discretion to consider participation in programs including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, housing assistance and food aid when determining whether someone is likely to become primarily dependent on government support. Under federal immigration law, that designation—known as a “public charge”—can be grounds for finding an applicant inadmissible. The administration says the change is intended to protect taxpayer resources and encourage immigrants to be self-sufficient. The states argue the rule is ambiguous and will cause eligible families to withdraw from benefits, including programs used by U.S. citizen children and other dependents who are not subject to the immigration restrictions. That loss of participation could reduce federal funding for state-administered programs while shifting costs to state budgets, the lawsuit says. Federal estimates cited in the states’ complaint project that Medicaid and CHIP programs nationwide could lose about $4.05 billion annually in federal payments because of disenrollment. The plaintiff states could account for roughly $2.2 billion of that reduction. The states also estimate about $1 billion in lost federal SNAP payments nationwide, including approximately $575 million among the states bringing the case. The states say the consequences would extend beyond lost funding. They anticipate added administrative expenses and warn that reduced use of preventive health care, nutrition assistance and school meals could worsen public health and increase medical costs. The cities and counties’ lawsuit estimates that about 1.3 million people—including 600,000 children—could lose access to health care and other coverage in the affected jurisdictions. New York City estimates the policy could lead to 6,000 fewer primary-care visits each year. “The new public charge rule seeks to push immigrant families away from the programs that have kept people fed and healthy for decades,” New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani said. He warned that fear could discourage even people who remain fully eligible for benefits from seeking care or assistance. The local governments also say children could be pulled from free or low-cost education programs. Their filing notes that about 19% of Seattle residents and 26% of King County residents rely on such programs. The litigation will determine whether the administration can reinstate the broader approach to public-charge determinations while the cases proceed. For Wisconsin, the dispute could affect federal support for health and nutrition programs as well as immigrant families’ willingness to use benefits they are legally entitled to receive.