Washington, DC — Today, the Biden Administration announced a rule to extend ACA access to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. The following are reactions from Yuna Oh and Vanessa Cárdenas of America’s Voice:
According to Yuna Oh, Research Associate for America’s Voice, who is a DACA recipient and has DACA recipients in her own family:
“Mine and other mixed-status families with a DACA recipient can be more hopeful tonight. Being able to access affordable healthcare will strengthen my family and thousands of others like mine, giving us more stability and security in the country we’ve lived in for 20-plus years.”
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“Today’s announcement solidifying ACA eligibility for DACA recipients is exactly the type of positive policy we hope to hear more of from the Biden Administration. Opportunities to give Dreamers and other longtime undocumented residents a chance to participate more fully in the country they call home are meaningful, popular, and worth celebrating. This is the right thing for the health of the American people, including DACA recipients, many of whom work in healthcare.
While we commend the Biden Administration for this decision, more needs to be done to protect the hundreds of thousands of DACA-mented and undocumented young people in our country. DACA is still under attack in the courts, and millions of immigrants remain in limbo, unable to fully plan for the future due to Republicans’ continued political obstruction of a popular legislative breakthrough.”
