Lawmakers urge USCIS to address immigration backlog affecting healthcare access

The following information was released by the office of New York Rep. Yvette Clarke:

Congresswomen Yvette D. Clarke and Adelita S. Grijalva, alongside 61 Members of Congress, sent a letter urging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediately expedite pending green card applications for immigrants who have lost or are at risk of losing Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare, and Affordable Care Act premium credits as a result of new eligibility restrictions under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that went into effect on October 1st.

The lawmakers warn that thousands of lawfully-present immigrants, including refugees, asylum recipients, and survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, could lose access to critical healthcare while waiting for USCIS to process their green card applications providing permanent residency. More than 281,000 lawfully present immigrants across nine states and Washington, D.C., were identified as facing the loss of Medicaid coverage beginning October 1. Nationwide, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 1.4 million lawfully present immigrants will become uninsured by 2034 under Republicans' healthcare eligibility restrictions.

The letter highlights the case of an Arizona woman with stage four metastatic breast cancer who lost her Medicaid coverage on October 1. Although she is lawfully present in the United States, delays in processing her green card application have left her without coverage for the chemotherapy she depends on to survive.

The lawmakers argue that eligible applicants should not lose access to healthcare because their immigration applications are caught in processing backlogs.

"Because Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), that have already waited any required time, retain federal eligibility under health law, these individuals are losing their health insurance simply because they are trapped in a bureaucratic bottleneck. This is a backlog crisis that lies within the administrative capabilities of USCIS to resolve and the agency cannot allow its own administrative delays to cause catastrophic gaps in their healthcare," wrote the Members.

They also warn that these delays could increase healthcare costs for federal and state governments by forcing patients to forgo preventive treatment until their conditions become more severe.

In their letter, the lawmakers call on USCIS to take three immediate steps:

Establish an emergency expedited processing pathway for Form I-485 adjustment of status applications for individuals who face the imminent loss of healthcare coverage because their applications remain pending.

Clarify expedited processing criteria to explicitly recognize the imminent loss of federal or state healthcare coverage as grounds for expedited processing under severe financial loss or humanitarian considerations.

Coordinate with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and state agencies to provide guidance on delaying coverage terminations for individuals with pending adjustment of status applications.

Needless red tape should never be the determinant between life and death," said Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. "While thousands of immigrant American families remain stuck in a bureaucratic backlog that risks ripping their healthcare out from under them, USCIS has a moral obligation to ensure all those caught in its processing bottleneck do not suffer due to circumstances beyond their control. Government inefficiencies are not the fault of immigrant communities, and they deserve better than to suffer the consequences of them.

"In Arizona, more than 20,000 lawfully present refugees and immigrants are at risk of losing their healthcare due to USCIS processing bottlenecks, including a woman with stage-four breast cancer and a nine-year-old boy with epilepsy who depends on Medicaid to attend school," said Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva. "These cuts, thanks to Republicans' Big Ugly Bill, are forcing Arizona families to choose between their health and their financial security. USCIS needs to act with urgency so that their bureaucratic delays do not cost people their lives."