Dec 10 (Reuters) – A federal judge in North Dakota has temporarily blocked a rule from the Biden administration that would require 19 Republican-led states to offer health insurance to immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor ruled on Monday that the rule, adopted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in May, likely violates a federal law that prohibits public benefits for individuals without legal immigration status.
Traynor, appointed by former President Donald Trump, issued the ruling following a lawsuit filed in August by 19 states. The judge’s decision prevents the rule from being enforced in these states while the case is ongoing.
The U.S. Department of Justice has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican leading the lawsuit, called the decision a “big win for the rule of law.” He argued that Congress never intended for undocumented immigrants to receive benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. Kobach highlighted two laws that he believes prevent illegal immigrants from accessing such benefits.
The National Immigration Law Center, which represents DACA recipients involved in the case, expressed that it is reviewing its options for the next steps in the legal process.
The rule at the heart of the case would classify participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program as “legally present” in the U.S., allowing them to access healthcare programs under the ACA. DACA, created in 2012, offers deportation relief and work permits to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
However, the states argue that because DACA recipients lack legal status under U.S. immigration law, they should not be considered “legally present” and therefore should not be eligible for public benefits. Nearly 50,000 DACA recipients live in the 19 states involved in the lawsuit, according to court filings.
Judge Traynor sided with the states, agreeing that the rule could encourage DACA recipients to remain in the U.S. illegally and place an undue financial burden on states that would have to spend millions of dollars on public services for them.
The DACA program, which provides work permits and protection from deportation, currently has around 530,000 enrollees. The program’s future remains uncertain as it faces ongoing legal challenges. Former President Trump sought to end DACA during his first term, but the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the move.
The Trump campaign criticized the healthcare rule in May, calling it “unfair and unsustainable.”
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