The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ended protections for migrants and their relatives who are in the country to undergo life saving treatments earlier this month on August 7.
No formal announcement was made and other immigration agencies claim they weren’t given advanced notice.
All pending and future requests as well as program renewals have effectively ended.
Before the rule change, those who were undergoing crucial life-saving medical treatments in the US could qualify for a “deferred action” plan that delayed deportation until they were well or had been fully treated.
There are about 1,000 medical-related deferred action applications each year.
Last week, some of those who had been accepted into the program began to receive letters telling them they’d be forcefully deported from the country if they did not leave voluntarily within 33 days.
A spokesperson for USCIS told The New York Times that requests for deferred action must now be made through Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency responsible for deportation.
But an ICE spokesperson told the Times that they were given no advance notice of this change and weren’t sure if they could take it on.
Boston Medical Center, a research hospital, said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” for those in the country to treat “extremely serious medical conditions.”
The hospital spokesperson said: “We oppose any actions that could prevent people from accessing the health care they need.”
Presidential candidate and former El Paso Congressman, Beto O’Rourke, meanwhile, took to Twitter to admonish the quiet rule change.
“People are going to die,” he wrote.
John Delaney, another 2020 candidate, also commented on the decision.
“Another cruel Trump policy – rolling back the ability for children to receive the medical care they need,” he wrote.
. Nicole Goodkind is a political reporter at Newsweek. You can reach her on Twitter @NicoleGoodkind or by email: N.Goodkind@newsweek.com.
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