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FACT BRIEF

Has Kamala Harris supported providing government health care to undocumented immigrants?

By Tom Kertscher
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YES

Vice President Kamala Harris proposed Medicare for All, covering all Americans in one government health plan, when she ran for president in 2019.

Asked if it would include undocumented immigrants, she said yes. Asked if she supported including people "in this country illegally,” Harris said she opposed "any policy that would deny … any human being from access to … public health, period.”

In 2024, Harris touted her work to ensure “Dreamers” – people brought to the U.S. without documentation as children – “have access to affordable health care.”

We didn’t find evidence to back Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s statement in Waukesha, Wisconsin, that Harris “promised to give Medicare to illegal aliens.”

Medicare is government health insurance mainly for people age 65 and over.

Harris’ campaign pointed to PolitiFact’s August 2024 report that Harris has not expressly said she supports free, taxpayer-supported health coverage for undocumented immigrants.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Kamala Harris on Medium My Plan For Medicare For All. In America, health care should be a…
Bloomberg Quicktake All Democrats Say Their Health Plan Would Cover Undocumented Immigrants
Washington Post Where Democrats Stand
CNN Kamala Harris interview transcript
The White House Statement from Vice President Kamala Harris on the Anniversary of DACA
LiveNOW from FOX WATCH: JD Vance campaigns in Wisconsin | LiveNOW from FOX
PolitiFact GOP Charge That Harris Backed Taxpayer-Funded Care for All Immigrants Overlooks Details
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.