Voice of America
05 Oct 2019, 11:35 GMT+10
WASHINGTON - 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.
But it 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.
No insurance, no entry
The proclamation says immigrants will be barred from entering the country unless they are to be covered by health insurance within 30 days of entering or have enough financial resources to pay for any medical costs. The measure will be effective Nov. 3.
The Trump administration is trying to move away from a family-based immigration system and into a merit-based system, and Friday's proclamation is another effort to limit immigrant access to public programs.
The Trump administration earlier this year made sweeping changes to regulations that would deny green cards to immigrants who use some forms of public assistance. The White House also directed officials to recover income-based welfare payments from sponsors, and proposed a rule requiring verification of immigration status for anyone seeking access to public housing benefits.
The required insurance can be purchased individually or provided by an employer, and it can be short-term coverage or catastrophic.
Medicaid doesn't count. And an immigrant will not be able to obtain a visa if using the Affordable Care Act's subsidies when buying insurance. Those subsidies are paid for by the federal government.
ACA Catch-22
"While lawful immigrants qualify for ACA subsidies, they'll be stuck in a catch-22 because subsidized coverage does not qualify as insurance under the proclamation," tweeted Larry Leavitt, executive vice president for health policy at Kaiser Family Foundation, a health care policy think tank.
The White House said in a statement that too many non-citizens were taking advantage of the country's "generous public health programs," and said immigrants contribute to the problem of "uncompensated health care costs."
According to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan immigration think tank, 57 percent of U.S. immigrants had private health insurance in 2017, compared with 69 percent of U.S.-born, and 30 percent had public health insurance coverage, compared with 36 percent of native-born.
The uninsured rate for immigrants dropped from 32 percent to 20 percent from 2013 to 2017, since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, according to Migration Policy.
There are about 1.1 million people who obtain green cards each year.
"This new attempt at an immigration ban is as shameless as it is stunning," tweeted Doug Rand, a former Obama administration official who is the co-founder of Boundless Immigration. "It will be chaotic to implement and guaranteed to separate U.S. citizens from their legal immigrant spouses and other close relatives."
Get a daily dose of Mexico Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Mexico Star.
More InformationPuri (Odisha) [India], June 29 (ANI): Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Sunday described the stampede during the Jagannath...
Balochistan [Pakistan], June 29 (ANI): Sixteen years have passed since the enforced disappearance of Dr. Deen Mohammad Baloch, a senior...
Navrangpur (Odisha) [India], June 29 (ANI): Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das on Sunday blamed the lack of proper arrangements...
Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], June 29 (ANI): Odisha Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vishnu Pati and Commandant Ajay Padhi have...
New Delhi [India], June 29 (ANI): Congress MP Rahul Gandhi expressed deep sorrow over the stampede during the Rath Yatra in Puri, calling...
Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], June 29 (ANI): Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday announced a financial assistance of...
NEW DELHI, India: India has decided not to allow a United Nations (UN) investigator to join the investigation into the recent Air India...
BONN, Germany: Despite widespread belt-tightening across the United Nations, nearly 200 countries agreed this week to increase the...
MEXICO CITY, Mexico: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that her government is investigating possible environmental...
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: In a landmark flight for three nations and a veteran U.S. spacefarer, a four-member astronaut crew launched...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: In a striking escalation of tensions between the executive and judicial branches, the Trump administration has filed...
BANGKOK, Thailand: This week, Thailand implemented land border restrictions, including a ban on tourists traveling to Cambodia, as...