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Winning health care for DACA’s new Minnesotans
Posted on Mar 27 2017
In 2012, President Obama instituted the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive order, which granted Deferred Action legal status to young immigrants who were long-term American residents. Known as “Dreamers,” these young people were brought to the United States as children. Under the executive order, those who were 15-30 years could apply for DACA legal status and thereby get access to driver’s licenses, legal work authorization, financial aid for education programs, and, importantly, relief from the constant fear of deportation.
In Minnesota today, some 6,000 children and young adults have applied for and received DACA status. They can work and go to school without fear of immediate deportation. But what about health care?
For two years, ILCM negotiated with the Commissioner of Human Services and the Governor’s office to confirm MinnesotaCare eligibility for DACA recipients who are income-eligible. Although Dreamers were never legally blocked from health care, health care was not extended to them either, and the state’s unwritten policy was to withhold health care from the DACA recipients. The work of ILCM, Health Access MN, Mid Minnesota Legal Aid, Stinson and Leonard law firm, TakeAction, Navigate, Voices for Racial Justice, and Waite House, and courageous storytelling by affected DACA recipients over the last two years, culminated in the state’s important, life-changing acknowledgement of Dreamers’ eligibility for health care. In December 2016, people with Deferred Action legal status exercised their eligibility for MinnesotaCare for the first time.
Eligibility was just the first step. Next, DACA recipients needed to be informed that they are eligible and assisted in applying. At the end of December, ILCM mailed letters to our entire network of past and current DACA recipients.
In the first few weeks of 2017, we also worked with HealthAccess MNsure Navigators to provide a how-to webinar to educate applicants on this important new opportunity and a MinnesotaCare enrollment clinic with healthcare Navigators from four organizations participating. Ten applications for MinnesotaCare were submitted through this clinic, and as of the middle of January, 27 applications had been received by the state from Dreamers. The webinar continues to be available via our Facebook page.
Despite uncertainty regarding the future of DACA, ILCM is proud to remain among the Dreamers’ strongest, most far-reaching advocates in Minnesota.