WASHINGTON — President Biden’s administration on Friday formalized a new policy to open the Obamacare health insurance exchanges to people who arrived in the United States illegally as children with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status (DACA).
The change, pending since last year, is expected to ease access to insurance and federal subsidies for about 100,000 uninsured DACA status holders and could soften the blow to immigration supporters if Biden tries to curb record illegal immigration before November 5. election.
“This historic final rule will make DACA recipients eligible for Affordable Care Act coverage for the first time. It is expected to help more than 100,000 DACA recipients gain coverage,” an administration official said on a press call.
“By providing new opportunities for quality, affordable health care, this rule will give DACA recipients the peace of mind and opportunity that every American deserves.”
The DACA program was created in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama when the DREAM Act failed to pass the Senate and grants eligible applicants access to protection from deportation and a working license.
In 2017, President Donald Trump attempted to scrap DACA while saying Congress should approve a similar program. The Supreme Court overturned it in 2020.
Last year, there were fewer than 600,000 DACA recipients, down from a peak of more than 700,000.
Immigration is one of the main responsibilities for Biden, 81, in his expected revenge against Trump, who is vowing to launch a mass deportation campaign after unprecedented illegal immigration under Biden.
Under Biden, most people who cross the Mexican border illegally are allowed to enter the United States to file asylum claims, which Republicans say encourages others to follow.
Shortly after taking office, Biden halted construction of Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall and ended the “Remain in Mexico” policy that required asylum seekers to wait for a decision on their persecution claims south of the border.
The expansion of DACA benefits comes amid reports that Biden may seek to demonstrate a tougher approach to the border as polls show the issue is a major electoral liability.
An Associated Press poll last month found that 56% of respondents said Biden had made “immigration and border security” worse.
Biden claimed in January that he would “close the border until it can be regained control” if Republicans agreed to adopt a reform package, but conservatives have balked, saying Biden already has that authority and that he would now consider using it.
A record 2.5 million illegal immigrants were apprehended after crossing the southern border in fiscal year 2023, which ended Sept. 30, followed by an all-time monthly high of nearly 302 000 in December.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in January that more than 85% of people arrested for crossing the border illegally were released into the United States.
New York Post
