Democrats and public health experts are concerned that the Trump administration’s immigration policies could scare immigrants away from getting medical help as the coronavirus spreads.
What we’re watching: Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, told senators on Thursday that health care facilities are already “sensitive locations” where immigration enforcement isn’t carried out, except in “exigent circumstances.”
Why it matters: To slow the deadly coronavirus, Americans need to be able to get tested and see doctors. For immigrants, though, that can involve trusting the federal agencies that have made it harder for them to stay in the country.
- “This administration has given immigrants very little reason to believe them,” Migration Policy Institute’s Sarah Pierce told Axios.
What they’re saying: “It’s potentially a really large public health problem,” said Wake Forest’s Christine Coughlin, who has written about unauthorized immigrants’ compliance with quarantines. “I believe there is a perception that if you were to go and seek treatment or seek testing, you could be potentially reported and then potentially deported.”
- The higher uninsured rate among non-citizens is “likely to be especially dangerous during a pandemic,” Wendy Parmet, director of the Center for Health Policy and Law at the Northeastern University School of Law, wrote in an op-ed Wednesday.
