Global Courant 2023-04-13 20:12:57
President Biden extends Medicaid eligibility and the Affordable Care Act to migrants who have been in the country illegally since childhood.
Biden’s order allows participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to qualify for government health insurance.
“When President Obama and I created the DACA program, we knew it would change lives and it has. Bringing stability and opportunity to hundreds of thousands of young people known as Dreamers, brought to the children of America. This land is the only home they’ve ever known,” Biden said in a Thursday video.
REPUBLICAN STATES ASK FEDERAL JUDGE TO TERMINATE ‘ILLEGAL’ DACA PROGRAM SUPPORTED BY BIDEN, OBAMA, OPPOSED BY TRUMP
President Biden gestures before walking over to talk to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
He continued, “So today my administration is announcing our plan to expand health insurance coverage for physician recipients by allowing them to enroll in a plan through the Affordable Care Act or through Medicaid. Healthcare should be a right , no privilege.”
The change will open up publicly funded health care to hundreds of thousands of migrants brought to the US illegally as children.
According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services data from last year, about 580,000 individuals are enrolled in the DACA program.
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Pro-DACA protesters hold a march outside the US Capitol calling for a path to citizenship in Washington, DC. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“Today’s announcement is about giving recipients the same opportunity and we will continue to do everything we can to protect Dreamers and push Congress to give them and their families a path to citizenship and ultimately the peace of mind they all deserve. earn,” Biden said Thursday.
Nine states in February asked a Texas federal judge to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a controversial immigration policy first enacted by former President Barack Obama and extended last year by Biden.
In the legal filing, the states — Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas and Mississippi — allege that Biden overstepped his constitutional authority by unilaterally renewing immigration policies without Congressional approval.
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Migrants wait to be processed by US Border Patrol as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua State, Mexico. (GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images)
“This lawsuit is about the scope of the executive branch, not the wisdom of any particular immigration policy. No president can unilaterally override duly passed bills of Congress simply because he prefers other policy choices,” the president said. states.
Lawrence Richard of Fox News contributed to this report.
