Parents' legal status and children's health insurance: Evidence from DACA

Abstract

Fear of immigration enforcement may deter undocumented parents from seeking government benefits for their US citizen children. This paper examines the effect of providing legal status to parents through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on health insurance coverage among US-born children. Using a regression discontinuity design, I find that DACA eligibility among likely undocumented mothers increases Medicaid enrollment among their US-born children by 4 to 7 percentage points. I do not find evidence to support a similar effect among US-born children with likely undocumented fathers.