When the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual reports on income, poverty and health care coverage this week, CHN members were quick to weigh in with their own commentary. You can see a number of their press statements and blog posts (and lots of other resources) on our Census resource page. But meanwhile, here is a sample of what our members are saying.
Archives: Voices
Unhealthy statistics: fewer Americans have health insurance — and millions are not sharing in economic growth
For the first time since implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the number of uninsured Americans has risen – evidence of the Trump Administration’s assault on health care. U.S. Census Bureau statistics released Tuesday show 27.5 million Americans, or 8.5 percent of the population, did not have health insurance in 2018, an increase of 1.9 million over 2017.
Reflecting, renewing, and responding to overcome 400 years of oppression
Last month, CLASP joined Cities United in Hampton, Virginia, during the remembrance of the 400-year anniversary of the first Africans being forcibly brought to this country and enslaved. Cities United works to eliminate the violence in American cities related to African American men and boys by centering young Black men and promoting prevention instead of prosecution and intervention instead of incarceration. The group’s 90+ participating cities are committed to cutting violence in half by 2025.
Trump Administration backtracks, in part, on deportation of critically ill immigrants, including children
Last week, Voices for Human Needs reported on a new Trump Administration policy – unannounced, and implemented with no input from the public – that ended medical deferred status, which allows immigrants with serious health issues to remain in the U.S. for treatment. Today there is some good news and a lot of bad news. The good news is that over the Labor Day weekend, the Trump Administration backtracked and announced that it will no longer order current applicants for medical deferred status to leave the country within 33 days, which would mean forgoing treatment. The bad news is that the Trump Administration’s announcement does not reinstate the medical deferments for future immigrants with severe health issues.
Breaking: ‘The Trump Administration is now literally deporting kids with cancer’
Within the past several weeks, immigrant families with extremely ill children – children with cancer, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, heart disease, HIV, and other life-threatening ailments – began receiving terse letters from the federal government. The letters informed them that their application to stay in the U.S. under what is known as “medical deferred action” had been denied, and they had 33 days to leave the country, meaning their children would have to forgo additional medical treatment.
With Hurricane Dorian looming, Trump Administration transfers $155 million in disaster aid to ICE
As Puerto Rico braced for the impact of Tropical Storm Dorian, media reports emerged this week detailing the Trump Administration’s plan to divert at least $155 million in federal disaster aid in order to increase funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The $155 million, part of an even larger $271 million being taken from the Department of Homeland Security, would come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund.
Report: After five years of minimum wage increases, New York City’s restaurant industry is thriving
Five years after New York State passed the first of several laws to gradually raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour, New York City’s restaurant industry continues to thrive, with strong growth in restaurant industry employment, wages, and the number of establishments around the city, according to a new report released by the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School and the National Employment Law Project.
Register Today: CHN Census Poverty Data Webinar Wednesday, Sept. 4.
On September 10th, the Census Bureau will release national poverty and income data, as well as nationwide and state health insurance data. CHN will host a webinar at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4 in which we will preview the data and explain how navigate the Census Bureau’s web site to find the data you need. The webinar is entitled, “What Can We Expect from the New Poverty, Income and Health Insurance Data, And How Can We Find the Info We Need?”
Act now to prevent cuts to 3.1 million SNAP recipients
Food assistance is at risk — again. Just months after Congress rejected cuts to our most important food assistance program (SNAP), the Administration is now proposing to implement, through executive action, a second SNAP benefits cut it failed to secure through legislation. You can take action to stop this from happening.
It’s About Time Everyone Cares about Politics
Butting heads. Name-calling. Gridlock. Threats of shutdowns. An infuriating lack of progress. We can all agree that government today is polarized, at least on the federal level.
Vulnerable people are everywhere
People often ask me, “Where are you from?” While this is simply a polite question, I laugh, because the answer is more complicated than you might think. I try to figure out how to answer without telling a stranger my life story. I was born in Korea as a citizen there, raised in the Philippines, flew to the U.S. three years ago, and now reside in Virginia for college – simple, right? It’s true that my background often places me in rather confusing situations, but I am immensely thankful to have had the opportunity to grow in a multicultural environment.
Trump’s asylum rule violates both domestic and international law
Thousands of asylum seekers flee to the United States. Often victims of serious violent crimes, they come in pursuit of safety and a better life. But if the Trump Administration has its way, they may reach a dead end.
Administration officials recently announced an interim final rule; If asylum seekers fail to apply for protection while in a safe third country first, the new rule will deny asylum to those who enter, or attempt to enter, the U.S through the southern border. The Trump Administration believes this will deter those who are “misusing the asylum system.” However, this rule will also place thousands of people in peril.