President Biden is set to announce on Thursday an expansion of Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance exchanges to include coverage for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, according to an Associated Press report.
The measure will be a significant expansion for the DACA program, which allows some Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors — to live and work in the United States.
It’s a boon for DACA beneficiaries, who both face the threat that the program could end and reduced access to social services where they do not meet the “lawful presence” requirements.
Though the expansion will benefit the program’s nearly 600,000 existing beneficiaries, their universe is decreasing as younger Dreamers are ineligible to apply — eligible beneficiaries must have arrived by 2007 — and courts have blocked new applicants from accessing the program.
Still, by expanding ACA and Medicaid eligibility, Biden is making it easier for current beneficiaries to stay in the program and in the United States, especially as older DACA recipients reach middle age.
It’s also a political perk for Democrats who’ve called for DACA recipients to receive the same level of social services as other immigrants with work permits.
Democrats by and large are looking for executive action and the power of the purse to protect immigrants, in particular Dreamers, as the chances for a legislative immigration reform package remain remote.
