Oregon Judge Blocks Trump’s Plan to Bar Immigrants Unable to Pay for Health Care

On Saturday, Federal District Court Judge from Portland, Oregon, ruled against the Trump Administration’s attempt to curb legal immigration. The proposed policy would require immigrants to prove they have the financial resources to obtain health insurance if approved for a Visa.

 

Judge Simon issued a nationwide temporary restraining order that prevents the United States Government and the Trump Administration from carrying out this new policy. The Policy was planned to go into effect on November 3rd.

 

According to New York Times Reporter Aimee Ortiz “Mr. Trump’s Oct. 4 proclamation ordered consular officers to bar immigrants who could not prove they had health insurance or the ability to pay for medical costs once they become permanent residents of the United States. The president had justified the policy on the grounds that immigrants were more likely to be uninsured, and that costs associated with this care are passed on to the American people in the form of higher taxes, higher premiums, and higher fees for medical services.”

 

This policy, along with other Immigration based policy changes the Trump Administration has tried to roll out has been constantly stopped by Judges before it reaches the implementation stage.

 

Ortiz reports “Lawyers from Justice Action Center, Innovation Law Lab and the American Immigration Lawyers Association argued that the policy was “plainly illegal” and that it would cause immediate and irreparable harm.“This new requirement rewrites our immigration and health care laws,” the lawyers wrote in a motion seeking a temporary restraining order. They noted that the policy could effectively bar up to 375,000 “otherwise qualified immigrants each year.””

 

The Justice Action Center also stated “We’re glad that the court understands the importance of preventing the health care ban from taking effect tonight, but this is just the first step, Esther Sung, a senior litigator at the Justice Action Center, said on Saturday. The impact of this ban is just huge. Hundreds of thousands of people would be affected,” she said. “Two out of three intending immigrants every year might not be able to join their families. It’s outrageous that the Trump administration is trying to slip this by people without them noticing.”