Health Care for Dreamers: A Texas Setback

Having to wait more than a decade for something as basic as health care. That's the reality for many DACA recipients, who were recently dealt a blow by a federal judge in North Dakota. This week, a ruling stopped a policy that would have let these undocumented immigrants get federally-available health care. In Texas, over 87, 000 DACA recipients, known as "Dreamers, " are affected. These are people brought to the U. S. as kids, who've been living and working here. The ruling is a big deal because Texas has the highest number of uninsured residents in the country. And Dreamers are particularly at risk. They're way less likely to have health insurance compared to U. S. -born people. Without health care, they're more likely to delay medical care, get hospitalized for preventable issues, or even die. The Biden administration had changed a rule to include Dreamers in the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). But a group of states, including Texas, sued. The judge said the rule change wasn't legal, and that only Congress can define who's "lawfully present" in the U. S. Advocates are disappointed and say they'll keep fighting. They believe Dreamers need access to health care. Others celebrate the ruling, seeing it as a win for the law. While the debate continues, Dreamers in Texas and other states are left in limbo, waiting for access to life-sustaining care. It's a complex issue that affects real people, making it a crucial topic for all of us to think about.