Biden to allow DACA migrants to access government health care plans

President Biden is expanding Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act eligibility to include migrants who have been in the country illegally since childhood. 

Biden’s order will allow Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program participants to qualify for government health insurance plans.

“When President Obama and I created the DACA program, we knew it would transform lives and it has. Bringing stability and possibility to hundreds of thousands of young people known as Dreamers, brought to America’s children. This country is the only home they’ve ever known,” Biden said in a Thursday video.

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He continued, “So today, my administration is announcing our plan to expand health coverage for doctor recipients by allowing them to enroll in a plan through the Affordable Care Act or through Medicaid. Health care should be a right, not a privilege.”

The change will open up government-funded health care to hundreds of thousands of migrants who were illicitly brought to the U.S. as children. 

Approximately 580,000 individuals are enrolled in the DACA program, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data from last year.

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“Today’s announcement is about giving recipients the same opportunity and will continue to do all we can to protect Dreamers and push Congress to give them and their families a pathway to citizenship and ultimately peace of mind they all deserve,” Biden said Thursday.

Nine states asked a Texas federal judge in February to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a controversial immigration policy that was first enacted by former President Barack Obama and was renewed last year Biden.

In the legal filing, the states — Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas, and Mississippi — argue that Biden overstepped his constitutional authorities in unilaterally renewing the immigration policy without approval from Congress.

“This lawsuit is about the scope of executive power, not the wisdom of any particular immigration policy. No President can unilaterally override Congress’s duly enacted laws simply because he prefers different policy choices,” the states said.

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.