President Joe Biden announced a final rule on Friday that will open up Obamacare plans to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients which will expand affordable health care coverage to tens of thousands of immigrants who came to the United States as children but do not qualify for government health insurance because they lack legal status.
“Dreamers are our loved ones, our nurses, teachers, and small business owners. And they deserve the promise of health care just like all of us,” Biden said in a statement. “Nearly twelve years ago, President Obama and I announced the DACA program to allow our young people to live and work in the only country they’ve called home. Since then, DACA has provided more than 800,000 Dreamers with the ability to work lawfully, pursue an education, and contribute their immense talents to make our communities better and stronger.’
The move comes during an election year in which immigration has become a prominent issue.
“I’m proud of the contributions of Dreamers to our country and committed to providing Dreamers the support they need to succeed,” Biden said. “That’s why I’ve previously directed the Department of Homeland Security to take all appropriate actions to “preserve and fortify” DACA. And that’s why today we are taking this historic step to ensure that DACA recipients have the same access to health care through the Affordable Care Act as their neighbors.”
