A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s attempt to provide Obamacare coverage to illegal migrants enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, marking the latest courtroom loss for his immigration agenda.
U.S. District Judge Daniel M. Traynor on Monday granted Kansas and 18 other states a stay regarding a final rule from the Biden administration that would’ve given illegal migrants brought into the United States at an early age, popularly referred to as “Dreamers,” access to healthcare coverage under Obamacare. The decision follows a lawsuit brought by the states that argued providing subsidized health insurance to DACA recipients would incentivize them to stay in the U.S. longer, forcing state governments to spend more taxpayer money on public services like education and law enforcement.
In his ruling, Traynor stated that while the the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has the authority to determine whether an individual meets the threshold for lawful status, the agency does not have the power to “circumvent” congressional authority and redefine the term “lawfully present.”
“The authority granted to CMS by the ACA is to ascertain whether an individual meets the requirements for lawful status. It by no means allows the agency to circumvent congressional authority and redefine the term ‘lawfully present,’” said Traynor, who was appointed to the bench by then-President Donald Trump in January 2020.
In response, Kansas GOP Attorney General Kris Kobach celebrated the ruling in a public statement.
“Big win for the rule of law. Congress never intended that illegal aliens should receive Obama care benefits. Indeed, two laws prohibit them from receiving such benefits. The Biden administration tried to break those laws,” Koback posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“But we fought back, and defeated the Justice Department,” he continued.
Biden announced in May that his administration finalized a rule that would extend Obamacare coverage to thousands of illegal migrants covered under DACA. The following month, a Congressional Budget Office report determined that roughly 110,000 illegal immigrants on the DACA program would sign up for Obamacare, adding about $7 billion to the federal deficit over the 2025-2034 period.
DACA is an Obama-era program that provides deportation protection and employment privileges to illegal migrants who arrived in the U.S. at an early age and meet a number of other requirements. Under current law, those not lawfully present in the country are ineligible for Obamacare subsidies, but the Biden administration is attempting to navigate around this stipulation by modifying the definition of “lawfully present.”
Trump, who re-enters office in January, has vowed a hardline immigration enforcement agenda that includes mass deportation and an end to birthright citizenship. However, the incoming Republican president has expressed a willingness to work with Democrats to keep Dreamers in the country.
This isn’t the first major loss for Biden’s liberal immigration agenda. A federal judge in November ruled that the outgoing president’s executive order attempting to provide a pathway to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants married to American citizens is unlawful.
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