{"id":265819,"date":"2021-08-06T11:40:48","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T11:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/?p=102564"},"modified":"2021-08-06T11:40:48","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T11:40:48","slug":"homeland-security-noncitizens-barriers-to-health-care-thwart-covid-19-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/08\/06\/homeland-security-noncitizens-barriers-to-health-care-thwart-covid-19-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Homeland Security: Noncitizens\u2019 barriers to health care thwart COVID-19 progress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Department of Homeland Security published a post-Trump report recently recognizing that immigrants are up to three times more likely to work in \u201cessential\u201d jobs with high risk of COVID-19 exposure than U.S.-born Americans. Essential workers who are not U.S. citizens are \u201cespecially vulnerable\u201d to the virus, the report warns, because they also face multiple barriers to receiving health care.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAbout 32% of noncitizens lack health insurance, compared to 7% of people born in the United States,\u201d according to the DHS report, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/publications\/immigration-statistics\/research_reports\/research_paper_covid-19_vulnerability_by_immigration_status_may_2021.pdf\">COVID-19 Vulnerability by Immigration Status<\/a>. One in 10 U.S. residents is a noncitizen, the report points out, and 41% of noncitizens are undocumented immigrants.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<aside class=\"article-email-signup\">\n\n    <div class=\"article-email-signup__inner\">\n\n                    <h4 class=\"article-email-signup__head\">Investigations in your inbox<\/h3>\n        \n        <div class=\"article-email-signup__row\">\n                            <p class=\"article-email-signup__text\">A quick dive each week into our reporting on race, power and privilege.<\/p>\n            \n            <div class=\"article-email-signup__form\">\n                <!-- Begin Mailchimp Signup Form -->\n<div id=\"mc_embed_signup\">\n    <form action=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.us4.list-manage.com\/subscribe\/post?u=8dc6eceed67f7f012462d0b12&amp;id=ffd1d0160d\" method=\"post\" id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" name=\"mc-embedded-subscribe-form\" >\n        <div id=\"mc_embed_signup_scroll\">\n\n            <div class=\"mc-field-group\">\n                <label for=\"mce-EMAIL\">Email address<\/label>\n                <input required=\"required\" type=\"email\" value=\"\" placeholder=\"you@example.com\" name=\"EMAIL\" class=\"required email\" id=\"mce-EMAIL\">\n            <\/div>\n            <div id=\"mce-responses\" class=\"clear\">\n                <div class=\"response\" id=\"mce-error-response\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n                <div class=\"response\" id=\"mce-success-response\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n            <!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->\n            <div style=\"position: absolute; left: -5000px;\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><input type=\"text\" name=\"b_8dc6eceed67f7f012462d0b12_ffd1d0160d\" tabindex=\"-1\" value=\"\"><\/div>\n            <div class=\"clear\"><input type=\"submit\" value=\"Join\" name=\"subscribe\" id=\"mc-embedded-subscribe\" class=\"btn\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        \n        <!-- The Watchdog group -->\n        <input type=\"hidden\" value=\"4294967296\" name=\"group[16933][4294967296]\" id=\"mce-group[16933]-16933-0\">\n        <!-- The Moment group -->\n        <input type=\"hidden\" value=\"8589934592\" name=\"group[16933][8589934592]\" id=\"mce-group[16933]-16933-1\">\n        \n    <\/form>\n<\/div>\n<!--End mc_embed_signup-->\n            <\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>To better control COVID-19, the agency says, public-health strategies must \u201cmitigate\u201d barriers noncitizens face, including exclusionary state policies, insurance costs and fear that seeking vaccines could lead to deportation or other family crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Released in May, the DHS report is dry but noticeably free of the negative rhetoric about immigrants common to Donald Trump\u2019s presidency. In fact, the report blames a short-lived Trump policy for thwarting attempts to persuade noncitizens to seek out free vaccines.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Known as the \u201cpublic charge\u201d rule, the Trump policy disqualified immigrants applying for legal permanent residency if they had used or were judged likely to use public services, including health care. Even though the rule has been suspended, the DHS report says, \u201cdue to pervasive fear and uncertainty created by [the rule\u2019s] introduction and implementation, noncitizens and their U.S. citizen family members are likely to continue avoiding such health care options.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"related-articles\">\n        <div class=\"related-articles__inner\">\n            \n                <h3 class=\"related-articles__head\">Related Articles<\/h3>\n                        <ul class=\"related-articles__items\">\n                                    <li class=\"tz-related\">\n\n                        <div class=\"tz-related__text\">\n\n                                                            <h4 class=\"tz-related__topic\">\n                                    <a class=\"tz-related__topic-link\" href=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/topics\/inequality-poverty-opportunity\/immigration\/immigration-employment\/\">Immigration and Employment<\/a>\n                                <\/h4>\n                            \n                            <h3 class=\"tz-related__title\">\n                                <a class=\"tz-related__title-link\" href=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/inequality-poverty-opportunity\/immigration\/immigration-employment\/nationwide-immigrants-produce-food-while-facing-covid-19\/\">Nationwide, immigrants produce food while facing COVID-19<\/a>\n                            <\/h3>\n\n                            <p class=\"tz-related__read\">\n                                <a class=\"tz-related__read-link\" href=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/inequality-poverty-opportunity\/immigration\/immigration-employment\/nationwide-immigrants-produce-food-while-facing-covid-19\/\">Read\n                                    <svg>\n                                        <use xlink:href=\"#arrow-small\"><\/use>\n                                    <\/svg>\n                                <\/a>\n                            <\/p>\n                        <\/div>\n\n                        <div class=\"tz-related__image\">\n                            <a class=\"tz-related__image-link\" href=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/inequality-poverty-opportunity\/immigration\/immigration-employment\/nationwide-immigrants-produce-food-while-facing-covid-19\/\">\n                                                                    <img src=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Immigrant-farmworkers-screenshot-of-map-100x100-c-default.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/>\n                                                            <\/a>\n                        <\/div>\n\n                    <\/li>\n                            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The DHS report examines barriers that vary among states and affect four groups of noncitizens: legal permanent residents; undocumented immigrants; refugees and asylees; and temporary residents such as guest workers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Texas, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.texas.gov\/laws-regulations\/handbooks\/mepd\/chapter-d-non-financial\/d-8000-alien-status\">denies Medicaid coverage<\/a> to most legal permanent resident adults who entered the United States after Aug. 22, 1996. By contrast, California in July approved allowing<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/california-expands-state-healthcare-undocumented-residents-50-up-2021-07-28\/\"> adults 50 and over<\/a>, including the undocumented, to enroll in expanded Medicaid coverage. California Gov. Gavin Newsom noted that undocumented workers have performed many essential jobs during the pandemic. His state already includes undocumented children and youth up to 26 in its Medicaid insurance program.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Texas, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcdfw.com\/news\/politics\/lone-star-politics\/biden-administration-knowingly-importing-covid-19-abbott-says-in-response-to-doj-warning\/2700921\/\">Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a> last month made headlines by accusing President Joe Biden of \u201cknowingly importing COVID-19 into Texas\u201d by releasing some asylum-seeking migrants from federal custody there. But Abbott hasn\u2019t criticized U.S. employers who\u2019ve sponsored guest workers crossing from Mexico into Texas so they can perform <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2021\/07\/22\/2021-15574\/notification-of-temporary-travel-restrictions-applicable-to-land-ports-of-entry-and-ferries-service\">\u201cessential<\/a>\u201d U.S. farmwork and other food production. If guest workers enter by land, they\u2019re not required to present a <a href=\"https:\/\/mx.usembassy.gov\/covid-19-information-for-u-s-citizens-in-mexico\/\">negative COVID-19 test<\/a>, as air passengers entering the United States are.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last year, many <a href=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/inequality-poverty-opportunity\/immigration\/immigration-employment\/trump-covid-19-immigrants-food-supply-farmworkers\/\">immigrants<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/inequality-poverty-opportunity\/immigration\/guest-farm-workers-visas-trump-wage-freezes\/\">guest workers<\/a> working on U.S. farms were infected and some died, including in Texas. This year, it\u2019s been left to states, counties and employers to try to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncpolicywatch.com\/2021\/03\/04\/north-carolina-has-a-plan-to-get-covid-19-vaccines-to-migrant-farmworkers-its-success-will-be-crucial-to-protecting-workers-health\/\">vaccinate<\/a> guest workers who\u2019ve arrived without being inoculated first. U.S. employers are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/community\/agricultural-employers.html\">not required<\/a> to provide guest workers with health insurance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUse this online tool to find the nearest community health center,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/community\/agricultural-employers.html\">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> advises employers whose guest workers need medical attention.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Susan Ferriss is a senior reporter at the Center for Public Integrity. She can be reached at <\/em><a href=\"mailto:sferriss@publicintegrity.org\"><em>sferriss@publicintegrity.org<\/em><\/a><em> . Follow her on Twitter <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/susanferriss\"><em>@susanferriss<\/em><\/a><em>.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/inside-publici\/newsletters\/watchdog-newsletter\/noncitizens-health-care-immigrants-covid-19-vaccines\/\">Homeland Security: Noncitizens\u2019 barriers to health care thwart COVID-19 progress<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/inside-publici\/newsletters\/watchdog-newsletter\/noncitizens-health-care-immigrants-covid-19-vaccines\/\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Homeland Security published a post-Trump report recently recognizing that immigrants are up to three times more likely to work in \u201cessential\u201d jobs with high risk of COVID-19 exposure than U.S.-born Americans. Essential workers who are not U.S. citizens are \u201cespecially vulnerable\u201d to the virus, the report warns, because they also face multiple [\u2026]<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/inside-publici\/newsletters\/watchdog-newsletter\/noncitizens-health-care-immigrants-covid-19-vaccines\/\">Homeland Security: Noncitizens\u2019 barriers to health care thwart COVID-19 progress<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/publicintegrity.org\/\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1371,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3500],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265819"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1371"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265819"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":265820,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265819\/revisions\/265820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}