On June 15, 2012, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decided it will consider providing temporary relief from removal by exercising deferred action on individuals that meet the following requirements on a case-by-case scenario: the individual must be under the age of thirty-one (31) as of July 15, 2012 and must have entered the U.S. under the age of sixteen (16). Additionally, the individual must have no lawful status as of July 15, 2012. The temporary relief from removal by exercising deferred action does not confer on the individual any lawful status.
As per Section 214 of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA), states may provide Medicaid and CHIP eligibility to children and/or pregnant women who are “lawfully residing in the United States…and who are otherwise eligible for such assistance.” “Lawfully residing” is determined pursuant to categories (1) through (9) set forth in the July 1, 2010 State Health Official Letter, which can be found here. As the DACA process does not pertain to eligibility for Medicaid or CHIP, HHS has determined Medicaid and CHIP under the CHIPRA state option, categories (1) through (9) as set for in the July 1, 2010 State Health Letter, will not be available to individuals who are granted deferred action under the DACA process.