A federal judge in North Dakota on Monday rejected a Biden administration policy to allow immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children — known as "Dreamers" — to enroll for healthcare through the Affordable Care Act, known as "Obamacare."
U.S. District Judge Daniel M. Traynor granted Kansas and 18 other states a stay in the Biden administration's final rule in May that would allow 100,000 illegal immigrants access to the ACA marketplace.
"The authority granted to [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] 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,'" Traynor said in his ruling.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who led the lawsuit against the Biden administration, called the ruling a "big win for the rule of law."
Kobach and the other AGs argued that the rule violates a 1996 welfare reform law and the ACA. They also said it would encourage more immigrants to come to the U.S. illegally, burdening the states and their public school systems.
"Congress never intended that illegal aliens should receive Obamacare benefits. Indeed, two laws prohibit them from receiving such benefits," Kobach said in a statement, according to The Hill. "The Biden administration tried to break those laws. But we fought back and defeated the Biden Justice Department."
Besides Kansas, North Dakota, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia joined the lawsuit.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.