Grantmakers In Health (GIH) recently joined the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the Center for Public Representation, Justice in Aging, the National Health Law Program, and the National Immigration Law Center in filing an amicus brief in State of New York v. U.S. Department of Justice. The case involves the administration’s attempt to expand citizenship verification requirements under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) for programs administered by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Justice.
GIH joined the amicus brief because the impacts of this rule are counter to our mission to achieve better health for all by worsening health disparities and access in the United States. If the citizenship verification requirement stands, U.S. citizens and immigrants alike will now have to prove they are eligible before receiving care at community health centers, behavioral health clinics, and more. For individuals who are in a mental health crisis, unhoused, or otherwise vulnerable, the burden of proof may be impossible to meet. In addition, delays in care caused by citizenship verification could lead to worse health outcomes. The topic aligns with our strategic plan, which centers health equity and social justice, and the co-signers are all aligned with our mission of advancing better health for all.