Immigration News

DACA-holders now eligible for Affordable Care Act

November 1, 2026

NOTE: December 10, 2024, Judge blocks ACA access to DACA-holders in 19 state. Minnesota is not affected by this ruling. 

Starting November 1, 2024, people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status can enroll in health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace for the first time. Here's what you need to know about this historic change.

What's Changing?

In May 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration issued new regulations that expand the definition of "lawfully present" to include DACA recipients for healthcare coverage purposes. This change allows DACA holders to:

Who's Eligible?

To be eligible, you must:

Important Dates

Expected Impact

This change could have significant effects:

What's Not Changing

DACA recipients remain ineligible for:

Current Challenges

Several important factors could affect the program's implementation:

Getting Coverage

DACA recipients can enroll through several methods:

Why It Matters

This change addresses a significant gap in healthcare access. Currently:

By providing access to affordable health insurance, this new rule aims to improve health outcomes and financial security for hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who have built their lives in the United States.

Resources:

Connecting DACA-holders to healthcare

DACA recipients in MN and MnCare

NILC Frequently Asked Questions

In MN, Portico Healthnet can help you apply

President Biden Announces new protections for undocumented immigrants

June 18, 2024

The Biden-Harris Administration just announced June 17, 2024 exciting news that will provide new protections to certain spouses of US Citizens and streamline access to work visas for DACA-holders.

The announcement comes in the heels of DACA marking 12 years on June 15, 2024 since President Obama (and Biden as Vice-President) announced it in 2012. The new process announced by the Biden-Harris Administration will allow:

You can read the announcement from the White House here

You can read the Department of Homeland Security here.

REMEMBER: the process to apply has not been announced. Stay alert. Do not fall for scams.

Legal Immigration Resources:

Here is a list of legal resources from the Minnesota Latino Affairs Council. And here is a list by the Minnesota State Law Library. The Presidents' Alliance of Higher Education and Immigration will be hosting on July 10, 2024 at 11AM (PT) an online event to explain more about the announcement of today--register here.