Governor Brown and Attorney General Rosenblum on Trump Administration's Health Insurance Requirements for Immigrants

Statement

Today, Governor Kate Brown and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum applauded the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Oregon by advocacy groups to stop the Trump Administration's proclamation creating new, wealth-based health insurance requirements for immigrants.

The proclamation, set to take effect on November 3, would deny visas to immigrants who plan to buy subsidized health insurance, such as plans available through the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace. Family members of anyone with such health plans would also be denied entry to the United States.

"Health care is a human right," said Governor Brown. "Putting the American Dream beyond the reach of immigrant families, except for those with the means to buy their own health insurance, goes against everything we stand for as a nation where all people are created equal. This country was built by immigrants. All Oregonians should have quality, affordable health care, regardless of who they are or where they live."

"The federal government's decision to deny visas to immigrants unless they have health insurance--or unless they are wealthy enough to pay for their health costs out of pocket--is yet another in a series of unending cruel and dehumanizing policies coming from this administration," said Attorney General Rosenblum. "Our America is welcoming and inclusive. Selecting only wealthy immigrants is not! I look forward to joining Innovation Law Labs (and other legal groups) in the court fight against this latest wrong-headed federal rule."

Source