Judge blocks Trump’s health insurance rule for immigrants

PORTLAND, ORE. » A federal judge in Portland on Saturday put on hold a rule by President Donald Trump’s administration requiring immigrants prove they will have health insurance or can pay for medical care before they can get visas.

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

Seven U.S. citizens and a nonprofit organization filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday contending the rule would block nearly twothirds of all prospective legal immigrants.

The lawsuit also said the rule would greatly reduce or eliminate the number of immigrants who enter the U.S. with family-sponsored visas.

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

The proclamation signed by Trump in early October applies to people seeking immigrant visas from abroad — not those in the U.S. already. It does not affect lawful permanent residents.

The rule does not apply to asylum seekers, refugees or children.

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

The rule is the Trump administration’s latest effort to limit immigrant access to public programs while trying to move the country away from a family based immigration system to a meritbased system.

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

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

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