Will County Gazette

Illinois Sen. Sue Rezin criticized the state for the money Illinois spends to provide health coverage to undocumented immigrants, commenting on the issue as Title 42 regulations ended on May 12.

"Illinois plans to allocate more than a billion dollars of Illinois taxpayer dollars towards healthcare services for undocumented immigrants during the upcoming fiscal year," Rezin said in a Facebook Post on May 11. "The money spent on this program inevitably reduces funding and resources available for other crucial and essential programs for Illinois citizens, including services for our developmentally disabled community.”

The post referred to a statement on Rezin's website, which noted that the Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors program was implemented in 2020 to provide benefits to undocumented immigrants 65 and older, then expanded to include those over age 42, then renamed Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults.

The measure "exceeded its yearly appropriation in the first month it was in place," the release stated, adding that the program next year will cost taxpayers $1.1 billion. Rezin wrote that Gov. J.B. Pritzker had boasted about the program but has since quieted his support.

A new piece of legislation, Senate Bill 122, was filed by Sen. Omar Aquino on Jan. 24, and would go into effect July 1. It would expand the coverage to all undocumented adults, including those 19-41 who weren't eligible for other coverage and were within a specific threshold of the poverty line, the release added. The expansion would add an additional $380 million to the program’s cost, raising it to almost $1.5 billion.

Those who are covered by the by the expansion "shall receive the same benefits as others in the state," according to the bill's text. "The Department of Health Services must establish rules for available medical care, standards for eligibility and other conditions of participation that are the least restrictive as the rules for medical assistance."

Rezin referenced Title 42, which allowed federal officials to limit immigration based on the COVID-19 pandemic. "The order authorized Customs and Border Protection to immediately remove migrants, including people seeking asylum, to prevent the spread of the virus," according to an Associated Press report. 

CNN reported that officials expect a surge of migrants crossing the borders now that Title 42 has ended, however the Biden administration has not opened the border to all immigrants openly, the report stated.

"The Biden administration is also planning several changes that authorities hope will relieve pressure on the border and help officials respond," the story stated. "The Department of Homeland Security previously released a six-pillar plan that outlined the department’s operations post-Title 42, including setting up additional facilities along the border to process migrants."

Administration officials still want to use that plan, as well as a new regulation which "would largely ban migrants who traveled through other countries on their way to the US-Mexico border from applying for asylum in the United States," the report stated.