Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and 17 other state attorneys general are calling on the federal government to clarify how it will handle immigrants who access public benefits during the coronavirus crisis.
The Department of Homeland Security put out an alert on March 13th saying it would not consider the use of public benefits to access testing, treatment, or preventative care by legal immigrants during the Covid-19 outbreak as part of their visa application.
But Attorney General Dana Nessel says that contradicts a later section of that same alert which says the department is required to consider the use of public benefits for visas - including benefits used to access treatment for Covid-19.
Ryan Jarvi is a spokesperson for the Attorney General.
“It’s not fair, at least it is not fair in our opinion, to penalize these people further by withholding healthcare and holding their citizenship over their heads by saying you’re not able to use healthcare because it could result in you being kicked out of the country.”
Jarvi said there needs to be clarity so immigrants aren’t afraid to access care.
“AG Nessel and a coalition of attorneys general from across the country have sent letters basically asking them to suspend the rule or at least make it clear those public benefits will not be considered in that evaluation.”
In response to our request for comment a spokesperson for the department of homeland security directed us back to the portion of the alert which says accessing benefits during the covid-19 crisis will not be considered for visa applications.