In a video shared on his Twitter page, President Joe Biden declared on Thursday that hundreds of thousands of individuals who came to the United States illegally as children will now be eligible to apply for Medicaid and health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act.

The move will permit individuals enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), a program established during the Obama administration, to access government-funded health insurance schemes.

Biden stated that these individuals are Americans in all ways except on paper and that they deserve the same opportunities and support as any other citizen, the Associated Press reported.

It is anticipated that the decision will face considerable opposition from conservative leaders in states that have been hesitant to expand Medicaid and have been critical of the Biden administration’s handling of illegal migrants.

While the federal government funds and outlines Medicaid, the program is overseen by individual states.

Written by staff