Share
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Share

Nature of the Case

Decision challenging restriction of health benefits provided by the State to legal immigrants.  Equal protection, immigration law, and social welfare.

Enforcement of the Decision and Outcomes

Because the case was determined on state constitutional grounds, there can be no further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, so this judgment stands as the final judgment on this aspect of the case. The Commonwealth complied with the Court’s decision.

Significance of the Case

Approximately 44,000 immigrants lost their access to Commonwealth Care as a result of the legislative action and, if still eligible, will be reinstated, restoring the near universality of health coverage for all but undocumented immigrants in Massachusetts. This decision affirms that immigrants are entitled to constitutional protection under the Equal Protection Clause of the State Constitution and that, where the federal government has defined accepted categories of discriminatory treatment by a uniform federal law, any discrimination at the State level will be subject to strict scrutiny. Most importantly, this case affirms that financial concerns do not justify discrimination under the standard of strict scrutiny. As the court stated: “”the fiscal consequences of any…judgment on the merits cannot be permitted to intrude on consideration of the case before us…[M]inorities rely on the independence of the courts to secure their constitutional rights against incursions of the majority, operating through the political branches of government.”