A federal judge in North Dakota has blocked a rule from the Biden administration that would have allowed Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients to apply for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as ObamaCare.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who led the lawsuit against the rule, said he was not surprised by the judge’s decision. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Kobach commented, “In this case, it was argued before the election, and we got the impression at the hearing that the judge was going to rule as he did.”
Kobach also criticized the Biden administration’s approach, accusing it of misusing language to redefine “illegal aliens” as “lawfully present.” He called the move “Alice in Wonderland stuff.”
The ruling, issued on Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor, blocked the Biden administration’s regulation, siding with 19 state attorneys general who had filed a lawsuit against the rule in August. The states argued that the rule violated a law that prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving benefits under ObamaCare. As a result, the rule will not be enforced in these states.
In his decision, Judge Traynor stated, “The Court concludes… that the powerful incentive of health care will encourage aliens who may otherwise vacate the Plaintiff States to remain.”
The states opposing the rule include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Under the Biden administration’s rule, more than 100,000 undocumented immigrants could have gained access to health insurance. The regulation would have allowed DACA recipients to apply for coverage through HealthCare.gov and state-based marketplaces by making “technical modifications” to the definition of “lawfully present.”
The DACA program, introduced by President Obama in 2012, allows young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to stay temporarily without fear of deportation. The program was created through an executive action, not legislation passed by Congress.
The Trump administration attempted to end DACA, but the Supreme Court blocked its termination in 2020.
Kobach warned that if the Biden rule had been implemented, it would have placed a heavy financial burden on taxpayers. “The impact on federal taxpayers would have been immense,” he said. “The ObamaCare subsidy could amount to $4,000 a year per individual, and if this applied to thousands of individuals, the total cost could run into the millions, possibly hundreds of millions of dollars.”
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said it is reviewing the lawsuit but declined to comment further due to ongoing litigation.
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