The White House announced Friday that immigrants in the U.S. as part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program can soon purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's marketplace.
DACA recipients will be eligible to sign up for health care plans through the federal marketplace in November, the Biden administration said.
The marketplace offers government-subsidized health care for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. The Biden administration said approximately 80% of consumers have found plans through the marketplace for less than $10 a month.
The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 during the Obama administration. Since then, those in the U.S. illegally have been ineligible for the marketplace.
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DACA was signed as an executive order by the Obama administration in 2012. It was intended to provide some respite for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.
DACA's status has fluctuated since then-President Barack Obama signed an executive order enacting the measure.
President Donald Trump rescinded DACA in 2017, but immigrants facing the prospect of deportation challenged in court. Amid legal challenges, President Joe Biden reinstated DACA, making some of the legal challenges moot.
According to the National Immigration Law Center, DACA has allowed 825,000 immigrants the ability to pursue work and education in the United States. However, because DACA was implemented by executive order and not by law, the cloud of deportation has long remained over recipients.
"I'm proud of the contributions of Dreamers to our country and committed to providing Dreamers the support they need to succeed," President Joe Biden said in a statement Friday. "That's why I've previously directed the Department of Homeland Security to take all appropriate actions to 'preserve and fortify' DACA. And that's why today we are taking this historic step to ensure that DACA recipients have the same access to health care through the Affordable Care Act as their neighbors."
