Immigrant Families
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New Report Shows Progress on Children’s Health Coverage Reversed Course
[Editor’s Note: For the most recent Georgetown University Center for Children and Families report on children’s health coverage and an interactive version of the report with state-by-state data, click here.] For the past eight years, CCF has published a report tracking health coverage rates for children across the country. This year, for the first time…
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How Proposed Changes to Public Charge Would Impact Children in Immigrant Communities
Editor’s Note, 10/15/19: Several federal courts have issued nationwide injunctions blocking implementation of the proposed changes to the public charge rule. We will update any further developments. Introduction The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a proposed regulation that would radically change U.S. immigration policy. The changes would ripple through nearly every aspect of the…
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Proposed “Public Charge” Rule Risks Immigrants’ Access to Private Coverage, Too
On October 10, the Trump administration published a proposed rule that significantly harms immigrant families, in part by dramatically reducing their access to health coverage and care. As our Center for Children & Families (CCF) colleague Kelly Whitener has documented on our sister blog (CCF’s Say Ahhh!), the so-called “Public Charge” rule would make it far more difficult…
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Administration Moves Forward with Proposed Public Charge Regulation; Comments Due in December
As we have long suspected, the Administration is moving forward with a proposed regulation to dramatically change our immigration system and significantly harm immigrant families. The Department of Homeland Security posted a draft version of the rule about two weeks ago, and just this morning the rule was finally posted for inspection in the Federal…
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While We Await Official Notice of Proposed Public Rules Changes, Here are Our Thoughts on Latest Version
On Saturday, September 22, the Department of Homeland Security posted an unofficial proposed regulation that would dramatically alter immigration law by broadening the definition of public charge and significantly harming immigrant families. Earlier this year, two related drafts were leaked to the press. Researchers documented the immediate, adverse impact on immigrant families and communities and…
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Proposed Rule Would Make Matters Worse for Immigrant Children Held in Detention – Comments Due Nov. 6
About a year ago, the Administration reversed longstanding immigration policy and started separating children from their parents at the US-Mexico border. Over just a few months, thousands of children were separated from their parents. The issue drew a lot of media attention, as medical and child welfare experts pointed out that research shows the Administration…
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Capable, Not Willing: Reuniting Families Could Take Longer If Administration Doesn’t Make it a Priority
As readers of SayAhhh! already know, the President’s Executive Order (EO) on family separation at the U.S. border raised more questions than it answered and had many disturbing implications. The EO did not end family separation as it purported. Instead, the EO outlined a policy to detain families indefinitely while seeking the authority to end…
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Americans Love Families. American Policies Don’t.
New York Times By: Emily Badger and Claire Cain Miller Politicians are united in their love for families. The very word — “families” — was among those said most often by Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton in campaign speeches. Democrats and Republicans have platforms for middle-class families, working families, military families. And candidates in need…
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What Does Trump’s Executive Order Mean for Children at the Border?
When news broke this week that President Trump was going to stop separating families at the border, we felt cautious optimism. As we waited for the details, I wondered what the Administration’s new policy would say about addressing family immigration and how it would ensure families already separated would be reunited. I hoped the President’s…
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Detention or Separation: Administration Sets False Choice for Families
The legal parameters around immigration and detention have been hotly debated in the past few weeks. I turned to the experts in immigration law for the answer, and here’s what I learned. The Administration has falsely asserted that the law requires them to separate children from their families, but there is no such requirement. As…
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How the toxic stress of family separation can harm a child
PBS By: Laura Santhanam Federal officials at the U.S.-Mexico border separated nearly 2,000 children from their families between April 19 and May 31. While it’s not clear how the political fight about the practice will play out, researchers do know how a traumatic event like being separated from a parent affects a child. … As soon…
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Family Separation at Border Exposes Children to Potentially Irreparable Harm
Recently, the Administration announced a change in immigration policy that has resulted in at least 700 children being separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border since October 1. Historically, crossing the border illegally was considered a civil offense and parents were able to stay with their children while legal proceedings were carried out (for…
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Trump Administration Will Drive Up Child Uninsured Rates if Public Charge Guidance is Issued
[Editor’s Note: On September 22, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security posted a draft regulation that would change the public charge test. The posted draft is different from “leaked” versions analyzed here in several key respects, and the conclusions of this blog post should not be used in reference to the September 22 posting. The posted draft…
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What Does Public Charge Mean for Immigrant Families?
If you’ve been following news reports about federal immigration policy, you’ve been busy – there is a lot going on. Some changes to immigration rules went into effect with little fanfare (see NILC’s summary of the updates to the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual with instructions for US embassies deciding whether to grant immigrant and…
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New Report Documents Impact of Immigration Debate on Children’s Health and Development
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) released a new report on the impact of ongoing immigration policy debates on young children. It’s an upsetting but important report to read, documenting the findings from interviews of more than 150 childhood educators and parents in six states (CA, GA, IL, NM, NC, and PA). This…
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Pediatricians Explain How Immigration Policy Intersects with Public Health and Health and Well-Being of Children
As pediatricians, we have the privilege of celebrating with families when a child is healthy, and supporting them through difficult and sometimes heartbreaking situations. We are especially moved to empathize with, and advocate for, families facing seemingly insurmountable challenges. Recently, our thoughts have been with our immigrant patients and families, in particular those who will…
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CHIP Extended for 6 Years – A Huge Relief but Long Overdue
The House and Senate finally passed a continuing resolution that extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program for six years incorporating the policy language that is essentially the same as the deal that Senators Hatch and Wyden agreed to back in September.[1] The fact that CHIP was extended 114 days after funding expired is unprecedented and…
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Arkansas and Nevada Latest to Eliminate 5-Year Waiting Period for Lawfully Residing Children
The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 gave states the option to improve Medicaid access by waiving the 5-year waiting period for lawfully residing immigrant children. With Arkansas and Nevada coming on board, this option has now been adopted by 33 states. Earlier this year, the Arkansas legislature passed a resolution to waive…
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How Should We Be Thinking About CHIP in the New World Order?
Recent press accounts have noted that Republicans are thinking about using the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as a bargaining tool to entice Democrats to vote for health legislation that replaces the Affordable Care Act (ACA). CHIP’s funding expires on September 30, 2017, which means that Congress must act soon to ensure that it continues…
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The Covering All Kids Act is Smart Investment in Future of Illinois Kids & State
By Andrea Kovach, The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law When the Governor of Illinois signed HB5736 into law this summer, it was a good day for children and a smart investment in the future of our state as 41,000 children got to keep their affordable health insurance for three more years. The Covering…
