Why illegal immigrants don’t seek treatment for COVID-19

The Public Charge law ‘does not restrict access’ to treatment of COVID-related illnesses, says the USCIS. Photos: Unsplash

By Sunita Sohrabji, India-West

Immigrant communities fear to seek treatment for COVID-19 because of the new public charge rule that says those who seek any for

m of federal public aid could be denied permanent status in the U.S.

Dr. Daniel Turner-Lloveras of the Harbor UCLA Medical Clinic made this remark at a webinar organized by Ethnic Media Services and sponsored by the Blue Shield of California Foundation.  

But in a March 27 alert, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated that: “The Public Charge rule does not restrict access to testing, screening, or treatment of communicable diseases, including COVID-19. In addition, the rule does not restrict access to vaccines for children or adults to prevent vaccine-preventable diseases.”

The March 27 advisory also stated that there might be an exception with regard to the receipt of certain cash and non-cash public benefits. “The rule requires USCIS to consider the receipt of certain cash and non-cash public benefits, including those that may be used to obtain testing or treatment for COVID-19 in a public charge inadmissibility determination, and for purposes of a public benefit condition applicable to certain non-immigrants seeking an extension of stay or change of status,” stated the agency.

About 43 percent of undocumented immigrants have no health insurance, said Turner-Lloveras. “We cannot contain a virus outbreak by providing care to only some of the population. We cannot successfully contain an outbreak if there are those among us who are afraid to seek care,” he said.