Healthcare Eligibility for DACA Recipients

DACA, the administrative relief program for eligible immigrants who arrived in the United States as children, was put into place by the Obama administration in 2012. Until now, healthcare insurance was not guaranteed under DACA, putting recipients at risk of lessened accessibility to physical and mental healthcare. In May of 2024, the Biden-Harris administration ruled that the Health and Human Services Department will no longer exclude DACA recipients from accessing insurance programs. After this ruling, criticism approached in the form of the lawsuit: Kansas et al. v. United States of America, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This paper analyzes both the ruling and the lawsuit at hand and proposes a public health strategy to create an equitable healthcare space for all individuals under DACA.