EL PASO, TEXAS — The Trump administration has scheduled a notice for publication in the Federal Register that effectively denies lawfully present immigrants access to public health programs. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notice reinterprets a 1996 law to restrict some health programs to deny services to sexual assault and domestic violence survivors with special “U” visas, child abuse survivors with “Special Immigrant Juvenile Status,” people with Temporary Protected Status who’ve fled war, natural disaster, or other emergency, and other lawfully present immigrants. Also excluded are people approved for lawful permanent residency to whom the Department of Homeland Security has not yet issued “green cards.”
The notice applies to a wide range of HHS programs. A Protecting Immigrant Families coalition (PIF) analysis of the notice finds that it denies lawfully present immigrants access to community health centers, substance abuse treatment and mental and behavioral health services, as well as family planning services. In addition, the PIF analysis finds that it denies lawfully present immigrants access to a range of social services funded through HHS. These include Head Start early childhood programs, child abuse and neglect prevention programs and educational aid for child abuse survivors, and the Community Services Block Grant, which funds initiatives aimed at improving public health, from food access to job training.
Importantly, the notice sends conflicting messages on status verification. While it clearly indicates that the immigration status of people seeking help through HHS programs must be verified, it also clearly indicates that nonprofits, the providers of many of the services, are not required to ask people seeking care or aid.
The health consequences are expected to extend well beyond immigrants excluded under the notice, because immigrant families typically include some people who are U.S. citizens, some who are undocumented, and some who are lawfully present immigrants. Raising concerns about immigration status in connection with health and social services is expected to deter eligible people from seeking help and care, because of concerns about consequences for family members. With immigrant families accounting for 27% of the U.S. population, the eligibility change threatens every community in the country.
In response to the notice, PIF released the following statement from its director, Adriana Cadena.
“Only this administration would use community health centers and child abuse prevention as weapons against immigrant families. Since we can’t count on a hyperpartisan Congress to right the wrongs of an administration gone wild, our hope is that the American people raise their voices to tell the Trump administration enough is enough.”
