Immigrants Seeking U.S. Visas Will Have To Prove They Can Afford Health Care Under Trump’s Latest Policy
Would-be immigrants will need to show they’ll be covered by health insurance within 30 days of entering the country or have the financial resources to pay their medical bills, President Donald Trump announced. The rule would apply to the spouses and parents of U.S. citizens. That could have an impact on families who are trying to bring their parents to the U.S., and is the latest sign that the Trump administration is trying to move away from a family-based immigration system.
The Associated Press:
Trump Signs Proclamation Restricting Visas For Uninsured
Immigrants applying for U.S. visas will be denied entry into the country unless they can prove they can afford health care, according to a proclamation signed Friday by President Donald Trump. The new rule applies to people seeking immigrant visas from abroad — not those in the U.S. already. It does not affect lawful permanent residents. It does not apply to asylum seekers, refugees or children. (Long, 10/4)
The Wall Street Journal:
Immigrant-Visa Applicants Required To Show They Can Afford Health Care
The action, which is set to take effect in 30 days, would require applicants, including people with ties to family members in the U.S., to show they have health insurance or prove their financial ability to pay for medical care before being issued a visa that could lead to a green card. The proclamation wouldn’t apply to noncitizen children of U.S. citizens. Refugees and immigrants who won asylum are also excluded from the new requirement. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the proclamation shortly before it was released. (Hackman and Restuccia, 10/4)
Reuters:
Trump Suspends Entry Of Immigrants Who Cannot Pay For Healthcare
Trump has made cutting legal and illegal immigration a centerpiece of his presidency. The Trump administration said last month that it planned to allow only 18,000 refugees to resettle in the United States in the 2020 fiscal year, the lowest number in the history of the modern refugee program. "While our healthcare system grapples with the challenges caused by uncompensated care, the United States Government is making the problem worse by admitting thousands of aliens who have not demonstrated any ability to pay for their healthcare costs," Trump said in the proclamation. (10/4)
Politico:
Trump Moves To Suspend Visas For Uninsured Immigrants
The White House touted the proclamation as "protecting health care benefits for American citizens," arguing that uninsured immigrants create a financial burden for hospitals and doctors, forcing them to charge higher fees for Americans to cover the cost. "People who come here shouldn’t immediately be on public assistance," a senior administration official told POLITICO. "We should bring people here who contribute and not drain resources." (Hesson and Diamond, 10/4)
The New York Times:
Trump Will Deny Immigrant Visas To Those Who Can’t Pay For Health Care
Immigration advocates were taken aback by the proclamation, noting there are already several steps that applicants for a green card must take to qualify, including passing background checks and health examinations. Elizabeth Jamae, an immigration lawyer at Pearl Law Group in San Francisco, said she doubted the assertion in the proclamation that lawful immigrants were about three times as likely as United States citizens to lack health insurance. (Shear and Jordan, 10/4)
CNN:
President Trump Issues Proclamation To Deny Visas To Immigrants Who Can't Pay For Health Care
Doug Rand, a former Obama official who worked on immigration policy, told CNN on Saturday that the policy would apply to some half a million people seeking green cards from abroad -- most of whom will be the parents and spouses of US citizens. The proclamation sidesteps Congress, along with the normal executive branch regulatory process, and does not provide an opportunity for public comment, according to Rand. (Stracqualursi, 10/5)
Vox:
The Trump Administration Will Deny Visas To Uninsured, Low-Income Immigrants
Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, tweeted Friday that immigrants with legal status do qualify for health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. But under the proclamation, subsidized insurance does not qualify as sufficient coverage. “They’ll be stuck in a catch 22,” he said. (Narea, 10/4)
The Hill:
Immigrant Rights Groups Slam Trump Policy Requiring Migrant Health Insurance
The immigrant advocacy group United We Dream called it an "economic and racist attack." "Health insurance is hard enough for immigrants to access in this county; it's hard enough for citizens too. Our healthcare system is shot and the Trump Administration knows this. This is another economic and racist attack on a community who deserves healthcare in the first place," the group wrote. (Frazin, 10/5)
Bloomberg:
Trump Orders Ban On Immigrants Who Can’t Pay For Health Care
The move effectively creates a mandate for immigrants to have health care insurance, after the administration overturned the Obama-era rule for all Americans to have coverage, which was a setback for efforts to reduce the level of uninsured in the U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, tweeted that the move was “hypocrisy, xenophobia, and barbarism.” (Davis and Shields, 10/5)
NPR:
How Immigrants Use Health Care
NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Anne Dunkelberg of the Center for Public Policy Priorities about the new rule denying visas to immigrants without health insurance or funds to pay for health care. (10/6)
In other immigration news —
WBUR:
ACLU Calls On Homeland Security To Stop Turning Away Pregnant Asylum-Seekers
To stem the flow of migrants across the southern border, the Trump administration is sending tens of thousands of asylum-seekers back to Mexico to await their day in U.S. immigration court — including some pregnant women. On the Mexican side of the international bridge that leads to Brownsville, Texas, immigration attorney Jodi Goodwin prepares her client, an asylum-seeker named Yulisa, for what happens next. (Leaños Jr., 10/5)
