US judge blocks Trump’s health insurance rule for immigrants

 A federal judge in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday put on hold a Trump ministration rule requiring immigrants prove y will have health insurance or can pay for medical care before y can get visas.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon granted a temporary restraining order that prevents rule from going into effect Sunday. It’s t clear when he will rule on merits of case.

Seven U.S. citizens and a nprofit organization filed federal lawsuit Wednesday contending rule would block nearly two-thirds of all prospective legal immigrants.

lawsuit also said rule would greatly reduce or eliminate number of immigrants who enter United States with family sponsored visas.

“We’re very grateful that court recognized need to block health care ban immediately,” says Justice Action Center senior litigator Esr Sung, who argued at Saturday’s hearing on behalf of plaintiffs. “ ban would separate families and cut two-thirds of green-card-based immigration starting tonight, were ban t stopped.”

proclamation signed by President Donald Trump in early October applies to people seeking immigrant visas from abro — t those in U.S. alrey. It does t affect lawful permanent residents. It does t apply to asylum-seekers, refugees or children.

proclamation says immigrants will be barred from entering country unless y are to be covered by health insurance within 30 days of entering or have eugh financial resources to pay for any medical costs.

rule is Trump ministration’s latest effort to limit immigrant access to public programs while trying to move country away from a family based immigration system to a merit-based system.

White House said in a statement at time proclamation was issued that too many n-citizens were taking vant of country’s “generous public health programs,” and said immigrants contribute to problem of “uncompensated health care costs.”

Under government’s visa rule, required insurance can be bought individually or provided by an employer and it can be short-term cover or catastrophic.

Medicaid doesn’t count, and an immigrant can’t get a visa if using Affordable Care Act’s subsidies when buying insurance. federal government pays for those subsidies.

According to Migration Policy Institute, a npartisan immigration think tank, 57% of U.S. immigrants h private health insurance in 2017, compared with 69% of U.S.-born, and 30% h public health insurance cover, compared with 36% of native-born.

uninsured rate for immigrants dropped from 32% to 20% from 2013 to 2017, since implementation of Affordable Care Act, according to Migration Policy.

re are about 1.1 million people who obtain green cards each year.

“Countless thousands across country can brea a sigh of relief today because court recognized urgent and irreparable harm that would have been inflicted” without hold, said Jesse Bless, director of federal litigation at American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Earlier this year, ministration me sweeping changes to regulations that would deny green cards to immigrants who use some forms of public assistance, but courts have blocked that measure.