Legal Rights Under Threat: Aging, Immigration, and Justice 

H.R. 1 Impacts on Older Adult Immigrants' Access to Healthcare 

Presenter: 

• Tiffany Huyenh-Cho (Director, California Medicare and Medicaid Advocacy Justice in Aging) 

Summary:

More than 8 million U.S. residents age 65 and older are immigrants and many are enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, and tax credits for insurance offered through the Affordable Care Act. After the passage of the budget reconciliation bill (H.R.1), many older immigrants will lose affordable health coverage across the United States, threatening their economic security and dignity. This includes people who have worked and paid into Medicare for decades. In this panel, Justice in Aging will give an overview of the immigrant eligibility changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and Affordable Care Act tax credits, the impacts of the loss of these health care programs, and the unique challenges older immigrants will face to secure affordable health care. H.R.1 leaves limited options for low-income older immigrants to access affordable, quality, health care as they age. These changes do not exist in a vacuum and overlaps with other federal policies attacking immigrants, including the loss of federal food aid eligibility.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the immigration status categories impacted by H.R.1

• Describe the implementation timeline for the changes under H.R.1 to health care eligibility for older adult immigrants

• Identify at least two practical strategies to prepare impacted individuals for H.R.1 changes

Government Targeting Immigrants: The Community Responds

Presenters:

• Maria Caballero Rubio (Executive Director, Centro Cultural) 
• Nansi Lopez (Policy Director, Centro Cultural) 

Summary:

In October of 2024, Centro began its work to prepare for the threat of proposed changes in services to immigrants and refugees by the incoming administration and federal government.  We had managed a similar reality of chaos, fear, and shifting policies in 2016 but not to the level of what ensued in 2025.  This workshop will describe Oregon’s response by community-based organizations who work on the front-lines providing basic services to those in need. This webinar will discuss how communities of color and nonprofits shifted priorities to respond to an existential threat.  

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how federal ICE policies impacted immigrant families and the older adult community in Oregon

• Learn about and describe the goals of Community Rapid Response

• Learn about new federal policies that will negatively impact immigrants and people of color

Moderated Discussion with All Presenters  

Facilitator:

• Jessica Ventura (Director, Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement at Oregon Department of Human Services) 

Summary:

This will be a facilitated discussion with all Session 1 presenters. 

Continuing Education Credits

Certificates of Attendance are available free of charge for anyone who attends the entire session. 

This is the first of four sessions of OGA's 2026 virtual conference. You can register for individual sessions or, at a discount, for the entire conference series. For an overview of all sessions, please visit the conference page.

Register here!

Tiffany Huyenh-Cho is the Director of California Medicare and Medicaid Advocacy at Justice in Aging, a national organization whose mission is to reduce older adult poverty across the United States. Tiffany leads Justice in Aging’s efforts to improve the experience of people dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid health coverage in California, including improving eligibility policies to simplify access to Medicaid. She advocates for policies to improve Medicare and Medicaid in recognition of the fractured and complicated systems that dually eligible individuals must navigate to access health and medical care.

Tiffany’s commitment to health policy comes from years in direct legal services and observing how existing health care systems are so unnecessarily complex that people are often left without needed care, and amplified for older adults who navigate both Medicare and Medicaid. Prior to Justice in Aging, Tiffany was at Bay Area Legal Aid helping people understand their health coverage, resolve insurance barriers, appealing denials of coverage, and resolving improper medical bills. Tiffany earned her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and her undergraduate degree from U.C. San Diego.

Maria Caballero Rubio is the Executive Director of Centro Cultural.  Her background is in government, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector, focusing on economic mobility and policy reform.  Government experience includes Washington County, Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, Policy Analyst in Washington DC at the US Department of Justice. She served as Executive Director of the Community Policing Institute at Western Oregon University, Policy Director for Portland Mayor Tom Potter and later as Vice-President at United Way of Columbia-Willamette in Portland.  She has served in her role as Executive Director at Centro for 11 years.  Equity and continuous improvement are integral elements of her values and leadership.  

Nansi Lopez is Policy Director for Centro Cultural.  Her focus is to give voice to the diverse Latino communities who do not have access to government systems through civic engagement and policy advocacy. She has experience in both government, private, and nonprofit sectors and serves on the Governor’s Racial Justice Council and Criminal Justice Reform Committee bridging the gap between community needs and policy decisions.  Centro’s mission-centered work is informed by the people we serve and remains responsive to the changing needs of the economy and political climate. 

Jessica Ventura serves as Director of the Oregon Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement within the Oregon Department of Human Services. She leads statewide policy coordination to ensure immigrant and refugee Oregonians are treated with respect and dignity when interacting with state systems, and that agencies align their response during periods of federal change.

Jessica brings more than a decade of experience in state government, including leadership roles at the Oregon Department of Education, the Oregon Legislature, and the Secretary of State’s Office. Her work has focused on equity-centered policy development, cross-agency coordination, and legislative strategy.

She is a first-generation immigrant who grew up in Oregon and has dedicated her career to public service. She lives in Oregon with her family.

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