logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Immigrant Parents Face Impossible Choices for Their Children as Fear Grows

Marian Conway
June 28, 2018
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

June 25, 2018; NBC News

The United States has about 10 million children who are US citizens but have at least one undocumented parent. These families are afraid to apply for Medicaid, a service that was in some ways created to help them.

On July 30, 2018, Medicare and Medicaid will turn 53 years old. The programs were created in response to an American population with too many people who lacked access to health care—particularly the elderly. From the beginning, the plan was meant to combine the best models of health care, insurance, and the economics of health to provide care for those who could not afford it. President Lyndon Johnson signed them into law in 1965; President Harry Truman was the first person to enroll, an honor given to him for his efforts to get a similar measure passed in the 1940s.

It appears to current applicants that the US government is brushing aside the “care” in Medicare and “aid” in Medicaid, subverting the programs into a deterrent, a tool to reveal parents who lack the documents to permit them to live in the US permanently. Even parents who have full-time jobs and have permanent residency applications pending are rejecting resources because they fear use of assistance programs like healthcare and SNAP will count against them. This proposed caveat to the green card process has not been approved, but the fear is at ground level already.

Maria Hernandez founded a small Austin nonprofit, VELA, in 2010 (income of $170,000). VELA supports children with disabilities, and Hernandez teaches parents to advocate for their children in their communities. She shows them how to find health care and therapy services. Seven out of 10 of the families who come to VELA are immigrants, the majority from Mexico. Although the children are born here and are thus US citizens, Hernandez says that parents fear drawing attention to themselves when advocating for their children. “We are seeing families having to make this impossible choice,” Hernandez says. As is true in much of the country, Central Texas has seen an increase in immigration raids and deportations in the past year.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

According to Anne Dunkelberg, who is with Austin’s nonprofit Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP), Texas already houses the highest number of people without health insurance, and once you add families who are dropping Medicaid in fear, even more individuals will be using hospital emergency rooms. The emergency rooms will only hold a child until the child is stable; at that time, they release him or her. And emergency rooms also cost taxpayers more than conventional care through Medicaid.

The CPPP, founded in 1999, “is an independent public policy organization that uses data and analysis to advocate for solutions that enable Texans of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.” It is much harder to reach that full potential without health care, especially for children with disabilities. It is not just worry over who will care for the children if the parent is deported that is behind the Medicaid drop-off; it’s also the loss of someone who can advocate for them fiercely and vehemently.

“It’s out of fear of deportation,” Dunkelberg said. “It’s out of fear of having their children being penalized in some way and potentially losing a parent that until this point has been their fierce advocate.”

She added, “We know that that is not a good plan for kids that for forever have been followed by a neurologist because they have seizures, or have been going to occupational therapy for years, and are finally making progress.”

Also, ceasing to fill out new applications does not erase previous records from the system. How far will the government go in using a healthcare program as a tool to causes harm? This administration has turned its back on the presidents who laid the groundwork for helping people by providing healthcare, like Truman and Johnson, and become a government absent of compassion.—Marian Conway

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marian Conway

Marian Conway, the executive director of the NY Community Bank Foundation, has a Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies, Writing and a Ph.D. in Public Policy, Nonprofit Management. She has discovered that her job and education have made her a popular person with nonprofits and a prime candidate for their boards. Marian keeps things in perspective, not allowing all that to go to her head, but it is difficult to say no to a challenge, especially participating in change, in remaking a board. She is currently on eleven boards of various sizes and has learned to say no.

More about: undocumented immigrantsMedicaid coverageNonprofit NewsPolicy

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

NPQ_Winter_2022Subscribe Today
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn
The Human Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis Must Be Understood—And Acted Upon
Anmol Irfan
Black Americans Need Reparations: The Fight for the CTC Highlights the Roadblocks
Jhumpa Bhattacharya and Trevor Smith
Edgar Cahn’s Second Act: Time Banking and the Return of Mutual Aid
Steve Dubb

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
February 23rd, 2 pm ET

Worker Power in the Social Sector

Register Now
Group Created with Sketch.
March 15th, 2 pm ET

Remaking the Economy

Caring for the Care Economy

Register Now
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of...
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.