Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich was in front of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, asking justices to allow Arizona and other states to defend a Trump-era revision to the public charge rule that the Biden administration is no longer using. 

The public charge rule was enacted under the Clinton administration and allows officials to deny permanent legal status like green cards to immigrants receiving significant and sustained government assistance. The Trump-era revision expanded to include immigrants using things like public housing and food assistance, even in the short term. Critics said the new guidelines were tantamount to attaching wealth test to the immigration process.

The revision has been embroiled in legal challenges since it was enacted in 2019 and when President Biden took office, his administration chose not to defend it in court. On Wednesday, Brnovich argued the rule saved states a total of "more than a billion dollars" and, if the Biden administration declined to defend it, states should be allowed to do so themselves.

"The 9th Circuit’s refusal to let Arizona and other states intervene to defend the public charge rule capped an unprecedented effort by the United States to unlawfully disregard a prior administration’s rule," he said. 

Some justices agreed with Brnovich, saying the Biden administration didn’t use the proper channels to end the policy. Others said it’s normal for a new president to enact new policy priorities.