The Trump Administration has released a new Presidential Proclamation requiring foreign nationals entering the United States as permanent residents to show that they have the ability to purchase medical insurance within 30 days of admission. The elitist corporate media is having a collective meltdown, claiming that this action is evidence of anti-immigrant bias upon the part of Team Trump – much as it did when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced its intention to enforce the public charge regulations.
Forbes interviewed a lawyer from Klasko Immigration Law Partners – a law firm whose primary business is obtaining visas for foreigners – for commentary on the new rules but didn’t bother to solicit opinion from government officials or organizations that seek to represent public interests on the immigration issue. Meanwhile, the New York Times quoted Steve Yale-Loehr, a well-known activist for “alien rights” who claims that, “President Trump has failed to build a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to deter illegal immigrants but he has effectively built an invisible wall to keep out legal immigrants.” The Times’ piece quotes several other attorneys who defend immigrants but, like the Forbes article, forgoes any comment from anyone with differing viewpoints.
In reality, President Trump hasn’t done anything that isn’t common practice for the vast majority of countries in the world. For instance: French immigration law requires all immigrants to register with the Caisse Primaire d’Assurances Maladie and begin paying into the national healthcare system, within three months of arrival in France. Britain requires most immigrants to pay a healthcare surcharge as part of the immigration application process. And health insurance is a requirement for anyone relocating to Australia on a working visa. And those are just examples of nations that require permanent and longer-term immigrants to purchase health insurance.
Many countries require all foreigners to purchase travelers’ insurance before they can enter, even for a brief visit. According to IMGlobal, a company that provides medical insurance to travelers and migrants, notes, “Rising global health care costs have encouraged an increasing number of governments worldwide to require or consider requiring travel health insurance for non-nationals.” Roamright.com, a website featuring travel tips and news, currently lists the European Union’s Schengen Nations, Cuba, Ecuador, Qatar, Russia, Thailand Turkey and the United Arab Emirates as nations that require tourists to purchase travelers’ insurance.
Simply put, it’s not the responsibility of American taxpayers to fund healthcare for foreign nationals. The media elites haven’t criticized France, Britain or Australia for expecting migrants to those countries to have health insurance. So, it’s pure hypocrisy when they criticize the Trump administration for doing what is clearly accepted within the community of nations as sound fiscal policy.
Along with vigorous enforcement of the public charge rules, President Trump’s proclamation is an important step toward ensuring the fiscal well-being of America’s healthcare system and protecting public health.