(DailyVantage.com) – President Joe Biden has expanded Obamacare, allowing illegal immigrants under the DACA program to receive free health care. Immigrants enrolled in the Obama-era DACA program are ineligible for deportation if they first entered the United States as children. So far, more than 800,000 immigrants have joined the DACA program. President Biden famously supported the DACA program during the Obama administration and has spent years trying to grant benefits like tax breaks and accessible health care to immigrants with DACA status.
Biden released a statement regarding the expansion of Obamacare. In Biden’s statement, the president pointed out the history of DACA and how the program has helped more than 800,000 people who immigrated to the United States at a young age. Biden also said that he’s worked alongside the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that DACA remains active and allows “dreamers” to stay in the United States while pursuing education or work opportunities. While Biden cited the Obamacare expansion as a victory for illegal immigrants, he failed to acknowledge the 25 million citizens who don’t have health insurance.
Biden’s statement also failed to highlight the cost of the Obamacare expansion for taxpayers, which some experts estimate could total over $2.8 billion annually. Each illegal immigrant enrolled in DACA would cost around $4,600, but providing health care could prove more expensive due to inflation or other potential expansions to Medicaid or Obamacare. Biden’s expansion of Obamacare directly contradicts former President Barack Obama, who promised Americans that only legal United States citizens would receive health benefits from the program.
While President Biden seems enthusiastic about the Obamacare expansion, members of Congress are against expanding the health insurance policy. Among the elected officials contesting Biden’s recent expansion of Obamacare is Representative Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina), who proposed a new resolution to disapprove of President Biden’s decision. Mace’s resolution could prevent President Biden’s expansion of Obamacare, but it would require a majority of support in both chambers of Congress and presidential approval or enough votes to circumvent Biden’s veto powers, neither of which seem likely.
Former President Trump addressed the Obamacare controversy during his presidential campaign and promised voters that he’d repeal Obamacare if he were elected. President Biden criticized Trump’s plan to repeal the controversial health insurance policy and claimed that Trump would attempt to repeal other health insurance policies upon Obamacare’s termination.
Copyright 2024, DailyVantage.com
