SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court in California refused Thursday to permit 14 states led by Republican governors to challenge the overturning of a Trump-era immigration rule affecting hundreds of thousands of people.

A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 against permitting intervention by the states, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

At issue was the so-called public charge rule that allowed the government to deny permanent-residency green cards to immigrants who used public benefits, ranging from welfare and Social Security to food stamps or low-income hous...