On Friday May 3, the Biden Administration finalized a rule to expand healthcare access to DACA recipients. The new rule, from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), includes DACA recipients in the definition of “lawfully present” under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), giving them access to Health Insurance Marketplace where they can purchase more affordable health insurance plans. A 60-day enrollment period will open on November 1, 2024, and coverage could begin as early as December. HHS estimates that this expansion will cover 100,000 DACA recipients who cannot otherwise afford health coverage.
DHS Temporarily Extends EADs
Effective April 8, the Department of Homeland Security issued a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) that automatically extends employment authorization for 540 days for some applicants seeking to renew their Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). This is the second time that the Biden Administration has issued a temporary extension to address significant backlogs in EAD processing. Most individuals will receive an automatic if:
- They timely filed for extension before their previous period of authorization expired; and
- They filed either
- On or after October 27, 2023 and their application was still pending on April 8, 2024; or
- Between April 8, 2024 and September 30, 2025
Some individuals with EADs, such as DACA recipients, are not eligible for this automatic extension and will continue to have only a 180 day extension on EADs. DHS is soliciting public comments through June 7, 2024; MIRA will draft comments for member organizations to sign-on to.