Disclosure: The data and information presented in this article have been obtained from sources that are believed to be reliable. The information contained in this article is provided for informational purposes only.
The Biden Administration announced last week that participants in the DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) would be open to applying for taxpayer-funded healthcare under the Affordable Care Act and other Medicaid programs.
For those who don’t know, DACA is an Obama-era program that will allow children who entered the US as illegal immigrants to access government-funded health insurance programs.
While making the announcement, Biden claimed the children are “dreamers in every way except for on paper” and pointed out the responsibility of Americans to give them opportunities and support.
This announcement comes when the already available 2010 Affordable Care Act rendered legal immigrants, including green card holders, asylees, refugees, and in some cases, even illegal immigrants, eligible for benefits.
Who is eligible for this?
This move by the White House will deem many more immigrants legal, thereby shrinking the number of “illegal immigrants” in the country. As per ACA and certain Medicaid programs, between 500,000 and 1 million people were already deemed eligible for benefits. Now, with Biden’s actions another 580,000 DACA recipients would become eligible.
DACA mainly includes illegal immigrants who were children when they were brought by their parents into the U.S. You can find the requirements for DACA in this link.
What could this mean for tax-paying Americans?
According to a recent study, it was found illegal immigrants already cost U.S taxpayers atleast $151.7 billion. This means that each American taxpayer is paying $1,156 per year because of illegal immigration. Back in 2017, the same cost was calculated to be approximately $116 billion, which increased by nearly $35 billion in just 5 years. With this new announcement, it’s certain that the amount will further increase.
Don’t illegal immigrants pay taxes?
It was calculated that the tax paid by illegal immigrants would only amount to around a sixth of the costs they create at all levels in this country. Also, those illegal immigrants who engage in the underground economy often don’t pay any tax. It was also found that many illegal immigrants actually get a net profit from paying tax through refundable tax credit programs.
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