Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield on Wednesday took his first legal action in anticipation of the new Trump administration. He joined a motion to protect health care access for immigrants. (Michael Romanos/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined a legal effort with 13 other states suing to protect health care access for young immigrants in anticipation of the new Trump administration.
This is Rayfield’s first legal action as attorney general in response to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. The goal is to protect health care access for Dreamers who came to the U.S. with their families illegally as children and became eligible for coverage under a Biden administration rule expected to end when Trump takes office.
The rule, issued last year, expanded health care access for DACA recipients under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The program protects undocumented immigrants from deportation who came to the U.S. when they were under 16 and met other requirements like studying in school, working in certain sectors or serving in the military. The program started in 2012 during the Obama administration.
In August, a group of 19 states led by Kansas challenged the Biden rule, filing a federal lawsuit in North Dakota’s U.S. District Court. The judge in the case blocked the rule from taking place in the 19 states but left it in place in other states, including Oregon. The rule went into effect on Nov. 1. 2024, allowing DACA recipients to enroll in plans created through the federal Affordable Care Act.
Oregon also has a separate, state-funded program that ensures that low-income immigrants, regardless of their residency status, have access to free benefits provided by Medicaid.
As officials expect the Trump administration to stop defending the rule, Oregon and 13 other states filed a motion to intervene in the case. The motion argues that Oregon and other states will be harmed if the rule is eliminated and that states have a right to step in when the federal government does not defend a policy.
“Oregon has long been a national leader in our work to expand access to health care,” Rayfield said in a statement. “Today’s motion is an important step to protect our advancements and safeguarding the health and wellbeing of all Oregonians.”
Nationally, more than 580,000 Dreamers are in the program, according to a 2023 letter that states, including Oregon, wrote to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in support of the rule change. In 2023, Oregon had 8,430 people protected under the program, the letter said.
“DACA has allowed recipients to live, study and work in the states (and throughout the country) as contributors and leaders in their communities,” the letter said. “DACA recipients attend public and private universities and are employed by companies, nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies and institutions, all of which benefit from their skills and productivity.”
In addition to Oregon, other states joining the motion are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico and Vermont.
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