States Continue to Invest in the Health and Well-Being of Immigrants: Highlights from 2023
JANUARY 2024
National Immigration Law Center
Background
State immigrant rights movements continued to gain ground in 2023. “Health Care for All” campaigns achieved significant victories, while legislatures across the political spectrum expanded access to care for immigrant children and/or pregnant people. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and the District of Columbia enacted several immigrant inclusive measures. And Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia also adopted pro-immigrant laws or policies. As detailed in this report, states improved access to driver’s licenses, higher education, professional licenses, childcare, tax credits, and nutrition assistance, protected workers’ rights, strengthened consumer privacy, and invested in access to counsel for immigrants. With a new Democratic trifecta, advocates in Minnesota secured a series of laws that had been championed for many years.