Trump's Medicaid cuts strip refugees and other legal immigrants of their health coverage

Starting Oct. 1, Medicaid stopped covering a group of lawful immigrants that includes refugees, asylum seekers, trafficking victims and survivors of domestic violence. Green-card holders keep their coverage. ABC News reports that hundreds of thousands of people are affected, under changes in President Donald Trump's 2025 tax and policy law. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the broader Medicaid overhaul will leave 7.5 million more people uninsured by 2034, and KFF estimates that more than 281,000 immigrants in nine states and the District of Columbia will lose coverage, including about 29,000 in Arizona and roughly 177,000 in Florida.

Advocates warn that people without Medicaid cannot afford private plans and will delay treatment or turn to emergency rooms. Ben D'Avanzo of the National Immigration Law Center called the change a message that immigrants are unwelcome. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis defended it, saying newcomers should be self-supporting and not draw on benefits that taxpayers finance.

In Tucson, María Chacon learned only days beforehand that her son Jesus, left ventilator-dependent by a car accident, was losing coverage that paid nearly $25,000 monthly for his care. The family came from Mexico on a trafficking-victim visa in 2018. His medication runs out in mid-October.

Summarized by PolitiKool from ABC News’s reporting. Read the full story at ABC News →