Living Up to the Promise of our Nation

Mixed-emotions abound this Fourth of July, as we yearn to celebrate the founding of this nation while simultaneously grappling with its founding oppressions, which include the subjugation of Indigenous Americans and the unaddressed trauma of the legacy of slavery that Black Americans endure today.    

But there is an undeniable sentiment of hope that meaningful change could be near. The desire to see this not as a moment but as a movement is gathering extraordinary public support.

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we still have a long way to go to live up to the promise of this nation.  The demand to remedy the inequitable way our schools are funded remains a priority for voters as polls show year after year. There is also a broad consensus for investment in early childhood education that cuts across partisan ideology, yet the majority of young children are denied the opportunity of a lifetime of success enabled by high quality early learning.

Of course, state legislation is a decidedly imperfect reflection of our collective will, which is why PCCY continues to fight for the needs of children, just as we did almost 30 years ago for the fight to pass the Children’s Health Insurance Program which would go on to become the national model.

But the devil, as they say, is in the details. The vaunted national model that professes to “cover all kids” fails to do so, denying access to CHIP coverage for more than 24,000 children who, by no fault of their own, lack legal status. They are the children of undocumented immigrants, many of whom we are dependent upon as they are essential workers on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19.

To be sure, there was some positive movement for immigrant children this week. The Supreme Court derailed the Trump Administration’s effort to deport young immigrants and the Federal District Court decided that immigrant children unjustly suffering in the detention center in Berks County must be released this month.  These decisions remind us that the structure of our democracy can work for justice.  But as we celebrate the 4^{thứ tự}, we must also note that protecting the interests of children in this crucible of democracy should not be so hard.

Just as the murder of George Floyd has sparked rapid change in policies across the country, the global pandemic certainly provides a good reason to reconsider a policy that denies access to basic medical care to thousands of children.  

The exclusion of these children from public insurance programs serves no other purpose than to visit pain upon their immigrant parents, a cruel and cynical relic of failed national immigration policy that is growing decidedly unfashionable.

If we, as a Commonwealth, profess that all children have a right to health care, then it behooves us to act accordingly. President John F. Kennedy’s historic essay, A Nation of Immigrants, is as accurate today as when he wrote those words in 1963: “The famous words of Emma Lazarus on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty read: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Until 1921 this was an accurate picture of our society. Under present law it would be appropriate to add: “as long as they come from Northern Europe, are not too tired or too poor or slightly ill, never stole a loaf of bread, never joined any questionable organization, and can document their activities from the past two years.”

As we all dare to hope the ideals of freedom, justice, and equality that we have long-claimed as Americans will apply to all of us, it is long overdue that we exercise the humanity and hope that formed this nation and extend to these immigrant children the dignity of access to medical care. 

Use the tools of independence at some point over the holiday week and ask your lawmaker to permit all children to enroll in CHIP regardless of their immigration status. 

If you haven’t already, please add your name to our petition to cover all kids.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Dream Care Coalition, PCCY’s campaign to extend CHIP coverage to undocumented children.