NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson isn’t doing all he can to protect immigrant families | Opinion
Right now, in 22 states Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot access the medical information of Medicaid enrollees. But in North Carolina they can. In 20 states and Washington D.C., life-saving programs like soup kitchens, domestic violence shelters, crisis hotlines, community health clinics and substance-use treatment programs remain open to all who seek their services. But in North Carolina, all sorts of lawfully present immigrants — like those with work or student visas, DACA recipients and asylum applicants fleeing religious persecution — could be turned away.
Why?
Because NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson has not joined lawsuits challenging Donald Trump’s relentless attacks on immigrant families. Jackson’s decision is leaving his people unprotected.
The Trump administration is enacting cruel policies designed to harm immigrant families — taking away their most basic necessities, including food and medical treatment. For example, Trump’s federal agencies have re-classified dozens of essential services as “federal public benefits,” a classification that limits their availability to a narrow group of “qualified” immigrants. The Trump administration is also trying to scare people away from using Medicaid by sharing Medicaid data with ICE. And it is working. Many families are now too afraid to seek necessary medical care.
The good news is that some states are fighting back. Attorneys General from across the country — including purple states like Arizona, Michigan, Maine and Wisconsin — have signed on to federal lawsuits to defend their residents.
In one case, 20 states and Washington D.C. are suing the Trump administration to stop the re-classification of essential services as “federal public benefits.” In another case, twenty-two states are challenging the Trump administration’s wholesale sharing of the nation’s Medicaid data with ICE. And, so far, they are winning. Federal courts have ordered the Trump administration to stop implementing these harmful policies. But only in the states that signed on to the lawsuits.
Notably absent is North Carolina. For our state to be included, all Jackson had to do was sign his name at the end of those documents, and North Carolina’s immigrant families would have more rights today.
I don’t know for sure why Jackson hasn’t joined these lawsuits. Perhaps he’s afraid that joining these lawsuits now will hurt his ambitions down the road. That is not the kind of leadership we need. The state attorney general’s job is to defend the people of North Carolina. Jackson should step up and start protecting our immigrant families.
Sarah Grusin is an attorney living in Durham.