Sen. Bernard Sanders on Friday reaffirmed that illegal immigrants living in the United States would be covered under his vision for universal government-run health care.
“I believe that health care is a human right,” the Vermont independent said at a candidate forum in Miami. “When I talk about health care being a human right, last time I heard that undocumented people are human beings as well.”
The “Medicare-for-all” bill Mr. Sanders and others rolled out in April says that every “resident of the United States” is entitled to health care under the legislation, though it also directs the federal government to try to prevent people from coming to the country for the sole purpose of getting health care services.
He also said he met recently with some younger illegal immigrants who were hesitant about applying for college because they wouldn’t get the financial aid they needed.
“We need the best-educated population in the world, and that means we’re going to make our public colleges and universities tuition-free, and open that to the undocumented as well,” he said.
Mr. Sanders and other candidates vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination were appearing Friday at the annual conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) being held in Miami.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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