Blog

On July 4, President Trump signed the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA), or H.R. 1, which is a budget law that makes big changes to immigrant and refugee access to public benefits. A few days later, multiple federal agencies issued notices related to the interpretation of “federal public benefit” under the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA).

Together these federal changes aim to restrict eligibility for programs that were previously available to immigrant communities. This overview describes how and when these changes will impact Michiganders.

In 2024, 15% of Michiganders (about 1.47 million residents) received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Contact:

Elly Jordan, ejordan@mplp.org, (616) 726-1692

Jacob T. Fallman, jfallman@sugarlaw.org, (313) 993-4505 ext. 7

MPLP is proud to announce that the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of our client in Blackman v. Millward, a case currently awaiting oral argument before the Michigan Supreme Court. Megan Reynolds of MPLP is lead counsel and MAP Managing Attorney Anna Moss is co-counsel in this case.

We’re proud to share that Michigan Poverty Law Program (MPLP) family law attorney Megan Reynolds recently joined Melissa Neckers of the Miller Johnson law firm to film a studio seminar with the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE). The seminar focused on Part 2 of the Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act (ARSPA), which went into effect in April 2025.