Trump Can Ban Immigrants Who Can’t Pay for Health Care, Federal Court Rules

President Donald Trump speaks at the White House, in Washington, on Nov. 5, 2020. Evan Vucci/AP Photo

A federal appeals court in California ordered the lifting of a ban on President Donald Trump’s proclamation that blocks immigrants from entering the United States if they lack health insurance or the means to pay for hospital bills.

In a Dec. 31, 2020, opinion (pdf), the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said that Trump acted within his authority when, in October 2019, he signed the Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden the United States Healthcare System.