California leads latest lawsuit over Trump immigration rule

California and three other states on Friday filed the latest court challenge to new Trump administration rules blocking green cards for many immigrants who use public assistance including Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers.

Nearly half of Americans would be considered a burden if the same standards were applied to U.S. citizens, said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

"This Trump rule weaponizes nutrition, health care and housing," Becerra said, by potentially blocking legal immigrants from becoming citizens "if your child participates in something as basic as your neighborhood school lunch or nutrition program."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, discusses the lawsuit the state has filed against the Trump administration's new rules blocking green cards for many immigrants who receive government assistance, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. California, three other states and the District of Columbia filed the suit Friday against some of the administration's most aggressive moves to restrict legal immigration that are supposed to take effect in October. (AP PhotoRich Pedroncelli)

The lawsuit he filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco follows others this week including those by Washington and 12 other states and by two California counties. Joining California are Maine, Oregon and Pennsylvania, as well as the District of Columbia.

Thirteen immigrant advocacy and legal groups led by La Clínica de la Raza filed a separate lawsuit Friday in the same court, arguing the regulation was motivated by racial bias.

The lawsuits all contest one of Republican President Donald Trump's most aggressive moves to restrict legal immigration. A spokesman for the White House declined comment while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not respond to a request for comment.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, accompanied by a group of immigrant advocates and service providers, discusses the effects of the Trump administration's new rules blocking green cards for many immigrants who receive government assistance, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. Newsom and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, announced that California has joined three other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit filed Friday against some of the administration's most aggressive moves to restrict legal immigration that are supposed to take effect in October. (AP PhotoRich Pedroncelli)

The new rules set to take effect in October would broaden a range of programs that can disqualify immigrants from legal status if they are deemed to be a burden to the United States — what's known as a "public charge."

Becerra, a Democrat, said working families across the country rely on similar safety net programs. The impact is particularly great in California, which has more than 10 million immigrants. Half of the state's children have an immigrant parent, he said.

His lawsuit argues that the rule creates unnecessary new obstacles for immigrants who want to legally live in the United States. It also discourages them from using health, nutrition, housing and other programs for fear it will erode their chances of being granted lawful status.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, leave a news conference where they announced the state has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's new rules blocking green cards for many immigrants who receive government assistance, in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. California, three other states and the District of Columbia filed the suit Friday against some of the administration's most aggressive moves to restrict legal immigration that are supposed to take effect in October. (AP PhotoRich Pedroncelli)

"The whole point is to create anxiety and create that chilling effect," California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, said at a news conference with Becerra, immigration advocates and services providers. "You already are seeing a decline in people that are getting supports that they're legally entitled to."

Newsom said Trump "has a particular problem with brown people — not even immigrants."

He later said he was "not going there" by following other Democrats who have called Trump a white supremacist, "but he says a lot of things that make a lot of people that do identify with that term very happy. The continued assault on the Hispanic community, it's not even any question; it's just self-evident."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, second from left, gestures towards a group of immigrant advocates and service providers as he discusses the effects of the Trump administration's new rules blocking green cards for many immigrants who receive government assistance, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. Newsom and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, left, announced that California has joined three other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit filed Friday against some of the administration's most aggressive moves to restrict legal immigration that are supposed to take effect in October. (AP PhotoRich Pedroncelli)

Newsom pointed to the rule change as well as recent immigration raids in Mississippi and a mass shooting by a man who authorities believe targeted Mexicans at a Walmart store in the Texas border city of El Paso.

"Connect some dots," Newsom said. "Why is it even an open question, what's going on this country and what's going on with this administration, and what they're trying to do and who they're trying to blame."

Becerra's mother was born in Mexico, coming to the U.S. after marrying his father, and he said she likely would have been affected by the policy. However, the rules don't apply to U.S. citizens, even if the citizen is related to an immigrant who is affected.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, left, glances at a display outlining the supposed effects on immigrants in the state under the Trump administration's new rules blocking green cards for many of those who receive government assistance, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. Becerra and Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, announced that California has joined three other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit filed Friday against some of the administration's most aggressive moves to restrict legal immigration that are supposed to take effect in October. (AP PhotoRich Pedroncelli)

Many immigrants are ineligible for public benefits because of their status, and an Associated Press analysis found low-income immigrants use Medicaid, food aid, cash assistance and Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, at a lower rate than comparable low-income native-born adults.

Trump's attempts to thwart illegal immigration have drawn the most attention, but the latest announcement Monday affects people who entered the United States legally and are seeking permanent status.

"We want to see people coming to this country who are self-sufficient," said Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of Citizenship and Immigration Services.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, flanked by Attorney General Xavier Becerra, discusses the lawsuit the state has filed against the Trump administration's new rules blocking green cards for many immigrants who receive government assistance, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. California, three other states and the District of Columbia filed the suit Friday against some of the administration's most aggressive moves to restrict legal immigration that are supposed to take effect in October. (AP PhotoRich Pedroncelli)

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, left, flanked by Gov. Gavin Newsom, discusses the lawsuit the state has filed against the Trump administration's new rules blocking green cards for many immigrants who receive government assistance, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. California, three other states and the District of Columbia filed the suit Friday against some of the administration's most aggressive moves to restrict legal immigration that are supposed to take effect in October. (AP PhotoRich Pedroncelli)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).

Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.

That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.

In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.

Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.

In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.

“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.

Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.

It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.

“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.

It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.

While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.

“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.

Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)