CT Week of Action Calls for Health Coverage for Undocumented Residents – Public News Service

Connecticut advocates are hosting a week of action, asking Gov. Ned Lamont and legislators to expand HUSKY Health, the state’s Medicaid program, to all undocumented immigrants.

The “Immigrant Futures” Week of Action, hosted by the Husky 4 Immigrants coalition, comes after a bill extending coverage to all undocumented minors failed to pass in the Human Services Committee.

Carolina Bortoletto, the coalition’s co-leader, said they want officials to include funding to expand HUSKY in the state budget.

“Health care is a human right,” she said. “No one should be denied health care and a chance at survival because of their immigration status. Connecticut can include it in the budget to give health care to undocumented kids. It’s a long-term investment in the health of Connecticut that will pay off.”

Today, immigrant parents and caretakers will head to the Capitol to share their stories. On Thursday, health-care providers will deliver a letter to legislators in support of coverage for undocumented residents. Critics of extending coverage warn it could lead to waves of “medical migration,” although that claim hasn’t been proved.

Sonia Hernandez, Fight Back organizer for coalition member Make the Road Connecticut, said the pandemic put the importance of health care in the spotlight. In a 2020 survey of Connecticut’s Latinx and undocumented immigrants, respondents cited a lack of insurance as a barrier to getting care.

“Many of them, they are on the front line working, and cannot stop working because they don’t qualify for unemployment or any federal help,” she said. “So, they have to continue working because sometimes, they are the ones that provide for their family.”

Last year, lawmakers expanded HUSKY to children age 8 and younger, which goes into effect in 2023. The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, which passed a $24 billion budget last week, includes funds to raise the age to 12, with a provision that grandfathers kids in until they turn 19.

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The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition is among the groups urging the U.S. to take in as many Ukrainian refugees as possible, as Ukraine faces an ongoing invasion by Russia.

Massachusetts has more than 20,000 Ukrainian residents, and Gov. Charlie Baker has said he plans to work with the Biden administration to help refugees resettle in the Commonwealth.

Elizabeth Sweet, executive director of the Coalition, said it is important to protect undocumented Ukrainians who are in the U.S. now from deportation as the conflict ensues.

“That protection could be, for example, through the use of temporary protected status (TPS), which is a status determination usually given in some type of emergency situation,” Sweet suggested. “It would protect them from being sent back to Ukraine, given the circumstances.”

According to the Migration Policy Institute, there are roughly 30,000 Ukrainian immigrants who would benefit from TPS. In addition, more than 100 recipients of the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals program, and more than 1,700 international students are from Ukraine.

Sweet noted while countries neighboring Ukraine have taken in massive numbers of refugees, there have been reports of nonwhite residents getting stuck at the border, including immigrants from Lebanon, Nigeria and India.

She argued the U.S. needs to beef up its refugee program.

“This crisis is reminding us of all of the refugees around the world who are fleeing conflict in dangerous situations,” Sweet pointed out. “The reality is that our refugee resettlement program here in the United States is a relatively small program.”

She added the U.S. is not even on track to bring in its goal of 125,000 refugees for the fiscal year. Since the invasion began a week ago, more than 650,000 Ukrainians have fled the country and about 160,000 are still in Ukraine, but displaced from their homes and communities.

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In the next few days, more than 300 undocumented or mixed-immigration-status New Mexico families will begin receiving $500 monthly for the next year, part of the first statewide “Guaranteed Basic Income” program.

Launched by a coalition of immigrant-based and advocacy organizations, more than 2,000 applications were received by mid-February.

Marcela Díaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, said the 330 participants from 13 counties were randomly selected to ensure strong representation from rural and urban communities.

“This is the first project that is solely focused on trying to figure out how cash assistance helps these mixed-status families,” Díaz explained. “How it impacts their educational outcomes, their work decisions, their health outcomes.”

The New Mexico pilot was designed by community-based and advocacy groups with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and UpTogether.

Guaranteed Basic Income programs are primarily designed to provide families earning low incomes a basic level of financial security through recurring cash payments, with no strings attached.

Diaz pointed out the New Mexico program will explore how cash assistance impacts immigrant families who are regularly excluded from traditional economic relief, safety net programs, and worker benefit programs. She noted during the pandemic, mixed-status families were not eligible for the thousands of dollars in stimulus payments received by others.

“It’s really difficult to get bypassed in these really difficult times and have to make do without that additional support while being the last to leave the job, the first to return and really being essential,” Diaz observed.

New Mexico Voices for Children will lead the evaluation of the project by surveying participants on how unrestricted cash alters family finances and other outcomes.

Disclosure: New Mexico Voices for Children/KIDS COUNT contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy and Priorities, Early Childhood Education, Human Rights/Racial Justice, and Poverty Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.

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A coalition of immigrants and allies in Michigan has kicked off a week of action, urging the Legislature to take up bills to restore the ability of any resident to get a driver’s license, regardless of immigration status.

Since 2008, Michigan has required proof of permanent legal residency to get a driver’s license.

Nelly Fuentes, immigrant justice coordinator for We the People Action Fund, pointed out a driver’s license or state ID is not only needed for driving, but for opening a bank account, renting or buying a home, getting health insurance and more.

“Things like getting a library card, you know, buying NyQuil at your pharmacy,” Fuentes outlined. “Things like picking up some prescriptions, going to the doctor, what is the very first thing that they ask you? Your insurance card and your identification.”

The measures, House Bill 4835 and House Bill 4836, were first introduced last fall, but a public hearing was canceled at the last minute. This week, groups are urging the Michigan Legislature to reschedule a hearing and get the bills back on track.

Alsina McMorris, community member and administrative fellow at the African Bureau for Immigration and Social Affairs, has lived in Michigan with her family for almost 10 years. Her husband had a driver’s license, but it expired in March 2019. Shortly afterward, she said he was stopped by police for an apparent issue with his headlights, and was then detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Knowing that we did not have an option to get a driver’s license in Michigan, we had reached out to our native land and where we got an international driver’s license,” McMorris explained. “But that did not make a difference.”

In Congress, some lawmakers back a pathway to citizenship for the nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., most recently in the Build Back Better bill. Although it stalled in the Senate, Michigan groups say it is still a critical issue, and the state should do what it can.

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